Night Lords

The Night Lords are one of the nine Space Marine Legions which betrayed the Emperor during the Horus Heresy, becoming Chaos Space Marines. They do not worship any of the four Chaos Gods individually, but acknowledge them equally in the form of Chaos Undivided as they ruthlessly spread terror amongst the galaxy's inhabitants.

Primarch Night Haunter
Primarch Konrad Curze used Night Haunter as an alias while stalking his perpretually dark homeworld of Nostramo as a merciless vigilante after he arrived there as an infant through the Warp from Terra due to the machinations of the Ruinous Powers. He later re-adopted the title during the Horus Heresy. Uniquely among all the Primarchs, Curze grew up completely alone, surviving only thanks to his wits, ruthlessness, and courage as a child in the underhives of that dark planet. He almost singlehandedly rid Nostramo of its culture of crime and predation, using terror as a weapon to crush the planet's ruling criminal syndicates and their corrupt overseers. He then re-established the rule of law under his own draconian leadership, and was revered by the Nostraman people as a benevolent and just dictator. His hunter instincts, stealth, high mobility, use of the element of surprise, and extensive use of psychological warfare were also traits of the VIII Space Marine Legion that had been created from his genome. Even before the Heresy, the Night Lords decorated their power armor with symbols of death, realizing that fear was a weapon as effective as any bolter or chainsword.

During the Horus Heresy, Curze was assassinated by Callidus Assassin M'Shen on the planet Tsagualsa, where the VIII Legion had made its fortress after the destruction of Nostramo. Curze had foreseen his assassination, as he possesed the gift (or curse) of foreknowledge, a prophetic psychic ability that other Night Lords also may possess. This is a unique trait, as it is said to be unrelated to Warp taints or other known psychic properties. It is believed that Curze let his assassination happen, in order to show his father, the Emperor of Mankind, that he stood by his beliefs as surely as the Emperor stood by his. While acknowledging his own crimes against humanity, Curze also stated that his martyrdom would ultimately vindicate him. Curze ordered his Legion not to pursue his assassin, a last wish that was eventually disobeyed. His death did not slow the Night Lords down, as they continued to apply themselves to his mantra and are specialists in the application of terror to this day.

Night Lords Organization
The Night Lords Chaos Marines have several special genetic traits: they all possess very pale skin and all-black eyes like their Primarch. They can see in absolute darkness, with a clarity that is above and beyond even the ability of normal Space Marine occular implants. They also have innate "preysight", the ability to use infrared vision to detect heat signatures. Finally, they can emit abnormally loud shrieks and cries that cause immediate deafness and disorientation in those who hear them.

Night Lords tend not to use daemons in their armies, and indeed with the current game rules for the Chaos Marines cannot, with the exception of Furies, which are Daemons of Chaos Undivided who share the Night Lords' fondness for brutal murder and psychological warfare. Night Lords do not worship any individual power of Chaos, instead venerating the concept of Chaos Undivided, although this is disputed in recent material. Indeed, the Night Lords have a contempt for all of the Ruinous Powers, as well as weakness of any sort. The Night Lords also mistrust psykers of all kinds, including astropaths, although they may utilize them, as well as Navigators. However, as of the 41st Millennium, some Night Lords may be tainted by the touch of Chaos and have developed mutations, a fact that those so affected try to hide from their brethren, as the Night Lords are traditionally as disgusted by mutation as their Loyalist counterparts, seeing it as a form of weakness.

The Night Lords are organized into Companies led by Brother-Captains, with each Company composed of squads of ten called "Claws" led by Brother-Sergeants. There is also an elite Terminator unit known (at least in the 10th Company) as the "Atramentar", and at least one Dreadnought. When ready for action, the Night Lords refer to themselves as "in midnight clad", reflecting both their heritage and their penchant for operations conducted under the cover of darkness.

In combat, the Night Lords tend to use large numbers of Raptors, Traitor Marines equipped with jump-packs who are masters of fast and efficient fighting. The Night Lords are great infiltrators and can quickly overwhelm the most well-defended of buildings, slaughtering all who stand in their path. Night Lords also use armored vehicles such as Land Raiders and Rhinos whenever possible. All Night Lords also have a strange electrical energy that pulsates around their Power Armour which is generated through unknown means, either through some arcane rite or technological marvel.

The Great Crusade
During the time of the Great Crusade, the Night Lords were used by the Emperor as a tool of terror to pacify planets which had been recently conquered by the other Space Marine Legions. Their fearsome reputation caused any rogue planetary governor or rebels to quickly pay any outstanding tithes or quell their uprisings, as the Night Lords were known to issue an Exterminatus order on several worlds for the most petty of crimes against the Imperium.

This ruthless behavior did not sit well with some of the other Primarchs and Legions. Finally, Curze and the Night Lords Legion were recalled to Terra to explain their behavior, where they were then reprimanded by the Emperor and the Council of Terra. The last straw for the Emperor was when the Night Lords had unleashed an orbital bombardment on their own homeworld, which was literally blown to pieces. Curze explained his actions to the Emperor by pointing out that Nostramo, in the Legion's absence, had slid back to its old ways of cruel violence and crime. He and the Night Lords were embittered by what they saw as the Emperor's and the Council of Terra's hypocrisy when they were censured for their brutality even as the Emperor had unleashed a Great Crusade that used military power to forcibly reunite the scattered worlds of humanity. The Night Lords thought the Emperor would acknowledge that their actions had been right. They also felt that these actions were the direct consequence of the mission that the Imperium had tasked them with, i.e. that of "sanctioned" terrorism against all who opposed the spread of the Imperium. To Curze, it seemed that the Emperor castigated him for carying out the same actions that had once been deemed so vital to the Imperium's expansion.

The Horus Heresy
Angered by the Emperor's rejection of their methods, the Night Lords willingly joined the Warmaster Horus in his battle against the Emperor of Mankind and participated in the Dropsite Massacre of the Loyalist Space Marine Legions at Istvaan V, as well as the invasion of Terra and the Siege of the Imperial Palace by the forces of Chaos. Immediately after the death of Horus, the Night Lords went on a killing spree in the Eastern Fringes of the galaxy that caused havoc for long years after the Horus Heresy had ended. It was during this chaotic time that Konrad Kurze was assassinated by a Callidus Assassin on the world of Tsagualsa.

Post-Heresy
After the Horus Heresy, the Night Lords did not flee into the Eye of Terror like the other Traitor Legions, instead they retained their Pre-Heresy numbers and sought to conquer their own terrible dominion from the worlds of the Imperium's Eastern Fringe. However, after the assassination of Konrad Curze, the Legion splintered and eventually relocated to the Eye of Terror. By the late 41st Millennium, the Legion has deteriorated in both its numbers and its capabilities. There was also continued infighting within the Legion as there was no clear leadership, with several ranking Night Lords contending for the right to lead the entire Legion. Currently, the Night Lords hire themselves out as mercenaries and elite shock troops for the other forces of Chaos or even for pirates who raid Imperial worlds, such as Huron Blackheart. They have been known to assist Chaos Warmaster Abaddon the Despoiler in his Black Crusade campaigns when asked to do so, as the quest for their own vengeance against the Imperium continues. Their most infamous post-Heresy raid in the Imperium was on the world of Scound's Fall, just a few hundred light years from holy Terra. Nearly all of the Raptors in the service of Chaos originate from the Night Lords Legion.

Appearance
The Night Lords' armour is not only commonly adorned in images of their Legion, and symbols of death such as trophy racks, spikes, spiked armor, and numerous skulls of all sizes, but also a peculiar form of imagery that occurs on each and every Night Lord Chaos Marine's armour. The Night Lords' night blue armor is alive with a mysterious network of lightning bolts that constantly play across their armour when in combat. Whether artificial, a curse, or something else, this lightning is a signature of the imagery of the lords of night and terrorises their foes in the ink blackness of the night. The gene-seed of the Night Lords seems to be surprisingly pure despite their allegiance to Chaos Undivided. Of all the Chaos Space Marine Legions, the Night Lords seem to be the least mutated. Night Lords Chaos Marines have jet-black eyes and pale skin. The original Legionaries do not have irises, with the visible part of their eyes consisting entirely of jet-black pupils. Their skin, eyes, and even their senses of smell and hearing are all adapted for living in complete darkness.

Notable Members

 * Konrad Curze, also known as the Night Haunter - Primarch of the Legion
 * Zso Sahaal - Captain of the 1st Company, "Talonmaster"
 * Krieg Acerbus - Captain, "Axemaster", leader of the largest Night Lords warband
 * Morgaris - Chaos Terminator Champion
 * Talos - Member of First Claw, 10th Company, "Soul Hunter"
 * Vandred - Captain of the 10th Company/Night Lords Warband of the Exalted

Fleet
The Night Lords are known to have possessed the following vessels:
 * Umbrea Insidior - Zso Sahaal's battle barge.
 * Covenant of Blood - The Exalted's Strike Cruiser. Home to the 10th Company of the Legion.
 * Hunter's Premonition - Captain Halasker's battle barge.