Nykona Sharrowkyn

Nykona Sharrowkyn was one of the deadliest members of the Legiones Astartes to tread the battlefields of the early 31st Millennium. Deployed with the first attack wave of the Raven Guard during the infamous Drop Site Massacre of Istvaan V, Sharrowkyn was able to survive the desperate battles of those dark days, but was unfortunately separated from his Legion with no mean to rejoin them. Determined to see the Warmaster's treachery punished, Sharrowkyn would later join other survivors from the Shattered Legions aboard the Iron Hands' Strike Cruiser Sisypheum to continue the fight against the Traitors. As part of the Sysipheum’s crew, Sharrowkyn's actions would prove instrumental in many battles, ensuring the continued survival of the almost legendary vessel and its valiant crew.

History
Whilst it is unknown if Nykona Sharrowkyn was born on the Raven Guard's homeworld of Kiavahr or on the prison-moon Lycaeus, Sharrowkyn grew up within the confines of the prison-moons cell-blocks. According to his own testimony, as soon as he was able to walk, he was used as a salt boy, one of the countless children to be sent down the narrow tunnels leading to Lycaeus' tidal pools to harvest the precious salt for the tool-making factories tempering waters. This was an inherently dangerous task, as many children died in these tunnels, surprised by the unannounced surge of water that filled a cave in minutes or killed by collapsing stone. Mortality rates amongst these children were in fact so high that the saying went that the best salt was the one harvested from the bones of the dead. Through skill and luck, Sharrowkyn survived the salt mines until he grew too big for the narrow tunnels and was transferred to the proper mines. Sharrowkyn was merely thirteen years old when this happened, leaving the deeper parts of the moon for its surface. Sharrowkyn nevertheless kept a fond memory of this transfer as it was the first time he ever saw the sun.

While visibly involved in the rebellion led by Corvus Corax to rid Lycaeus of the rule of the Tech-Guilds of Kiavahr and the cruel overseers that had been oppressing Lycaeus' population for centuries, it is unknown which role Sharrowkyn had within the rebel's army -- but his extensive knowledge on Corax's way of war seemed to indicate that Sharrowkyn must have been close to the Primarch, or at least he was utilised as one of the several decoys used to confuse the prison's guards. However, it is also quite possible that Sharoowkyn was too young to actively participate in the slaves' uprising and that he gained all the knowledge he possessed on that matter from other accounts or the testimonies of first-hand participants.

After the successful capture of the Black Tower, the same building that would become the famed Ravenspire, the liberation of Kiavahr and its inclusion within the Imperium of Mankind, Nykona Sharrowkyn was selected to become one of the Emperor's Legiones Astartes, a warrior of the XIXth Legion -- the Raven Guard.

Great Crusade
As one of the most secretive of the Legiones Astartes, the Raven Guard have always valued their discretion and many of its greatest victory were only rendered public years after the enemy had been silenced. Sharrowkyn's participation in the Great Crusade is largely unknown. In fact, very few solid information on Sharrowkyn's career within the Raven Guard are readily available apart from his induction into the ranks of the 66th Company. From later testimonies, it seems almost certain that Sharrowkyn was a member of the Mor Deythan, the Raven Guard's elite infiltration squads, although Sharrowkyn always publicly denied the fact that he indeed belonged to this august formation. Yet his natural discretion and his excellent marksmanship suggest otherwise. As only a true Mor Deythan would be able to, Nykona had been blessed with his Primarch's rare gift to shroud himself in shadows -- an art he allegedly studied amongst the greatest of the XIXth Legion's Shadowmasters. Rumors have it that Sharrowkyn was also one of the selected few that had personally been trained in hand-to-hand combat by Corax himself -- his deadly prowess with the shortsword certainly giving credence to this tale. Yet his great autonomy in the field might also indicate that Sharrowyn, in fact, belonged to a previously unknown order of trained assassins and infiltrators, an alternative to the Legion's extensive cadre of Moritat.

While Sharrowkyn’s involvement in the Great Crusade will probably never be fully revealed, events placed him on the black sands of Istvaan V during the infamous Drop Site Massacre. A few months prior to this military disaster that almost saw the Raven Guard undone, as well as inflicting dire losses on both the Salamanders and Iron Hands Legions. The Emperor's chosen son, the Warmaster Horus Lupercal, Primarch of the recently renamed Sons of Horus, had announced his formal secession from the Imperium of Mankind and had rallied three of his brother Primarchs and their Legions to him, names now forever marked with the seal of infamy: Fulgrim of the Emperor's Children, Angron of the World Eaters and Mortarion of the Death Guard. In his first act of treachery, the Warmaster brutally purged those Legions sworn to him of any Loyalist elements during the Istvaan III Atrocity, before entrenching himself alongside the Death Guard, the Emperor’s Children and the World Eaters legions on the planet of Istvaan V, awaiting the punitive expedition that was bound to be sent by the Emperor. The Raven Guard were chosen alongside the Iron Hands and the Salamanders to form the first assault wave, with the Iron Warriors, Alpha Legion, Word Bearers and Night Lords forming the second wave. As for the other Legions involved, the Raven Guard would deploy almost its entire military strength, including the 66th Company. As before, Sharrowkyn's actions on this most tragic of days are matter of pure conjuncture. What is known, with any certainty, is that the Raven Guard valiantly assailed the enemy positions, and that sometime during the the Loyalist attack, Sharrowkyn was wounded and brought back to a loyalist camp to be medically treated. He was still there when the Traitors of the second attack wave showed their true allegiance, by callously opening fire on the Iron Hands, Salamanders and Raven Guard.

To their credit, the Loyalist reacted quickly. Having been bloodied against fellow Legionaries and Legions they had in some cases served along during the Great Crusade, the retreating Salamanders and Raven Guard immediately returned fire. The Iron Hands were the still mostly battling the Emperor’s Children, fueled by the anger of their Primarch Ferrus Manus as he sought out his treacherous brother Fulgrim to face him in single combat. The full testimony of this dreadful day is told elsewhere, but for Sharrowkyn, the battle was already lost. Wounded and seperated from his Legion - which already sought to escape the deadly trap that was now forming - Sharrowkyn followed his instincts. The XIXth Legion did not breed common warriors or those Legionaries that would gladly choose to die weapon in hands, hurling insults at the enemy while fighting on till their dying breath, no, the Raven Guard only lived according to one motto: strike, fade and strike again. Despite the pandemonium that reigned in the loyalist camp, despite the bombardment unleashed by the Iron Warriors and even the Alpha Legion’s Headhunter squads assassinating the Loyalist Apothecaries within the camp, the wounded Sharrowkyn looked for any mean of escaping the camp alife. It was then most fortunate for him that he encountered Iron Father Sabik Wayland of the Iron Hands Legion.

Sysipheum
The reasons behind Wayland’s presence in the camp are as obscure as those explaining Sharrowkyn’s, but nevertheless if it hadn’t been for the Iron Father’s presence, Sharrowkyn would likely have died that day on the black sands of Istvaan. As it was, Wayland dragged Sharrowkyn to the nearest Thunderhawk available - by pure coincidence an Iron Hands gunship - sat himself in the pilot seat and started the engines. Iron Hands and Salamanders Legionaries, most of them wounded secured themselves in the Thunderhawk’s troop compartment before take-off. Despite an impressive amount of ground-fire, Wayland piloting skills saw the Thunderhawk safely reach the stratosphere where the void-batte between Loyalist and Traitors was as fierce as the combat on the ground.Wayland headed straight to his own vessel, the Sysipheum which had survived this far.

The Loyalist fared little better in the void as they did on the ground. Vastly outnumbered and outgunned, any Loyalist captain knew that to stay was to invite a swift death by broadside or a messy death at the hands of Traitor boarding parties. Despite these risks, many a captain stayed above Istvaan V in order to allow those survivors from the ground attack to dock. The Sysipheum did so and used the timely arrival of the Iron Hands Fleet to make good its escape. It was to be a close call, relying on daring escape vectors, periods of silent running, masquerading as one of the drifting wrecks and a final dash to the minimum safe distant to enter the Warp. By that point the Sysipheum had taken a severe beating, whole decks having been sealed against the void or ravaged by fire. Its command structure and crew were ad-hoc at best but still formed in its majority by serfs and Astartes from the Iron Hands. A few Salamanders Legionaries - amongst them an Apothecary by the name of Atesh Tarsa - had also been rescued from the bloodsoaked soil of Istvaan. And a single Raven Guard : Nykona Sharrowkyn. Despite the severe casualties taken, those that would soon be called the Shattered Legions were resolute to stay in the fight, to become a thorn in the Traitor’s side and to avenge their fallen brothers.

Eirene Septimus
With the losses suffered on Iydris, the Sysipheum offensive capabilities had been severely reduced. The ship itself had not escaped unscathed, but as before, the dedication of its crew had allowed the Sysipheum to endure. The Strike Cruiser could still prove a deadly opponent as isolated enemy ships would soon find out. The Zeta Morgeld, a Strike Cruiser belonging to the XXth Legion, the Alpha Legion, was only the latest vessel to be cornered and boarded by the Sysipheum. While the Iron Hands conducted a more conventionnal boarding action, Sharrowkyn and his partner, Wayland, chose an alternate route: running along the Morgeld’s exterior hull to reach the bridge. To gain access in the ship’s interior, Wayland carried a Lascutter, a high-powered cutting tool, which would allow the pair to breach the Morgeld’s bridge and circumvent its extensive defensive measure. However, as the main attack was bogged down by a pair of Alpha Legion Terminators, Sharrowkyn and Wayland stepped in to save Captain Tyro’s life. The first Terminator was sucked into the void and the second was no match for Sharrowkyn’s blade work. The Zeta Morgeld’s navigational logs held highly classified informations : the future location of the Alpha Legion’s illusive Primarch, Alpharius. Though encrypted Wayland and Frater Thamatica were able to crack the ennemy codes thanks to the captured Kryptos. Having been stripped of anything useful, the Iron Hands were about to dispose of the Zeta Morgeld when the Sysipheum came unexpectedly under attack as the Theta Malquiant, another Alpha Legion Strike Cruiser appeared insystem. The Theta Malquiant did however not come alone : it had been followed by a Loyalist-vessel, the Iron Heart, flagship of the famed Shadrak Meduson.

While the Iron Hands rejoiced of the Iron Heart’s timely arrival and the prospect of joining forces with one of their Legion’s greatest heroes, Sharrowkyn was more reserved. Ever suspicious, the Iron Heart’s miraculous arrival and timely rescue of the Sysipheum sat ill at ease with the Raven Guard. The XIXth Legion had always been cautious, disliking to sacrifice its warriors in often costly direct assaults when the same goal could be attained through other means. This same sense of caution lead Sharrowkyn to speak out against Tyro, urging the assembled command council of the Sysipheum to cut all vox-links to the Iron Heart and rapidly vacate the system. But the Sysipheum was still an Iron Hand vessel and Shadowkyn’s warnings were easily dismissed by the eager Iron Hands.

Known Associates

 * Apothecary Atesh Tarsa - Tarsa’s obsidian skin and fiery eyes marked him out as a son of Vulkan, a Salamanders of the XIXth Legion of the Legiones Astartes. Like Sharrowkyn, Tarsa was one of the few members of the crew that did not belong to the Iron Tenth. As former Apothecary of the 24th Company of the Salamanders’ Legion, Tarsa was the most experienced medical authority onboard, which quickly left him in charge of the survival of the Sysipheum’s heavily wounded captain, Ulrach Branthan, and the numerous wounded of all kind. Yet, when not fighting to save the life of one of his patients, Atesh Tarsa and Nykona Sharrowkyn spend a lot of time together. They made an unlike pair, the pale-skinned son of Corax and the dark Salamanders but both of them valued their friendship, having both been spared the trauma of knowing their gene-father had been slain. Sharrowkyn had been surprised when Tarsa had spotted him directly while he wandering amongst the Sysipheum’s corridors, a feat he believed impossible to those untrained in the art of stealth. When their ship was boarded by the Emperor’s Children during the Battle of Idris, it was Sharrowkyn that saved Tarsa’s life, engaging the enemy swordsman about to finish the job. Sharrowkyn also benefitted from Tarsa’s friendship, having found more than a friend : Tarsa taught Sharrowkyn a measure of his skill as a weaponsmith, guiding Sharrowkyn as he forged his own shortsword to replace his twin Gladii.
 * Iron Father Sabik Wayland -
 * Cadmus Tyro -

Known Opponents

 * Lucius the Eternal -
 * Alpharius -