House Taranis



House Taranis is a Loyalist Imperial Knight House with strong ties to the Adeptus Mechanicus. The first of the knightly houses to be established was that of House Taranis. This truly ancient house predates any other by many hundreds of years, for it was first founded on Mars during the Age of Terra. As the industries of the red planet developed into a vast metropolis of technological mastery, so too did it evolve to become the first and foremost of the Forge Worlds, and the Knights of House Taranis were its guardians. The STC technology supplied to many of the expeditionary fleets during Mankind's expansion across the stars included designs for armoured suits of exo-armour based on those first developed to be used by the Knights of Taranis. When the Knight Worlds were first rediscovered during the Imperium's Great Crusade many thousands of years later, it is likely that the Mechanicum used their intimate knowledge of the Knight suits worn by House Taranis to help win the loyalty of those worlds.

Genesis of the Knight Suits
The first Knight suit was one of countless technological wonders created on Mars during the Age of Technology. The pioneering Nobles of House Taranis became the original Imperial Knights, and piloted the very first prototypes, fresh from the forges of Mars' industrial heart. Uniquely amongst the Nobles of the other knightly houses, however, the subtle mind-altering technology was noticeably absent from the Thrones Mechanicum of Taranis' Knights. This was in part due to the fact that the Martian Nobles who became the first Knights were already fiercely loyal to their Mechanicum overseers and House Taranis was an integral part of Mars' infrastructure. The Imperial Knight STCs were upgraded to include the subliminal stimuli in preparation for Mankind's exodus across the stars, the better to prepare the Nobles who would be responsible for the protection of others. Many of the Knight suits piloted by the Nobles of House Taranis were archaic compared to those of the "younger" houses, for they included the very earliest patterns and marks of Knight armour amongst their number. The destruction of so many Knights during the Horus Heresy saw this balance redressed, however, and Maven's house was ultimately to be reborn with the very finest Knight suits at its disposal, as befitted the first of the knightly houses. Many of the Imperial Knights of House Taranis date back to the time of Taranis' renewal, each proudly emblazoned with the amended heraldry of their house. Never again has the strength of House Taranis been so sorely tested, for it returned from the precipice of annihilation greater than ever before.

Notable Campaigns

 * The Emperor Arrives on Mars (c.M30) - Knight Taymon Verticorda, of House Taranis, is the first to encounter the Emperor on his arrival on Mars. In his guise as the Omnissiah, the Emperor forges an auspicious alliance between Mars and the newly unified Terra that forms the backbone of his fledgling Imperium. Preparations are made for a great undertaking to reunite the lost worlds of Mankind.
 * The Tarsok Incursion (230.M41) - Knights of House Taranis battle a daemonic incursion on the world of Tarsok V, taking the fight to the towering Great Unclean One that leads the daemonic horde. Wading through a tide of Plaguebearers, Seneschal Halver's Knights advance on the corpulent horror while billowing clouds of flies sizzle against their ion shields and form drifts about their feet. The daemonic lord drowns one Knight in a tide of bile, and crushes two more beneath its weeping bulk. Yet the Knights' reaper chainswords carve through its rancid flesh and with a final, gurgling roar the Great Unclean One is banished. The remaining Daemons fade slowly from view, leaving the planet’s surviving defenders to count the cost.

Notable Taranis Knights

 * Ares Lictor - Imperial Knight Paladin of Lord Commander Verticorda, the joint commander of House Taranis, during the Great Crusade and the opening days of the Horus Heresy.
 * Gladius Fulmen - Imperial Knight Paladin of Lord Commander Caturix, the joint commander of House Taranis, during the Great Crusade and the opening days of the Horus Heresy.
 * Fortis Metallum - Imperial Knight Paladin of Preceptor Stator during the Great Crusade and the opening days of the Horus Heresy.
 * Equitos Bellum - Imperial Knight Paladin of Rav Maven during the Great Crusade and the opening days of the Horus Heresy. This honourable mount had a host of battle honours earned in the earliest days of the Great Crusade. It had fought the enemies of the Imperium beneath a dozen different skies, and even marched alongside the Salamanders Legion of Primarch Vulkan. The design of a firedrake carved into the skull-cockpit of the Knight recalled that campaign, and Maven never tired of telling the stories of that glorious ride into battle.
 * Pax Mortis - Imperial Knight Paladin of Leopold Cronus during the Great Crusade and the opening days of the Horus Heresy.

Notable Taranis Personnel

 * Lord Commander Taymon Verticorda - Rider of the Imperial Paladin Ares Lictor, Lord Commander Verticorda was the first to encounter the Emperor on his arrival on Mars. Ever since Verticorda had bent his knee to the Emperor nearly two hundred years before the outbreak of the Horus Heresy, the joint commanders of the Knights of Taranis had served as the Princeps Conciliatus between the warrior orders of Mars. It was their job to ensure that gatherings were conducted in a manner befitting the most ancient warrior guilds, that tradition was upheld and honourable discourse permitted. A hunched and ancient warrior, Verticorda was aged and revered for his wisdom. Alongside his fellow master of the Knights of Taranis, Caturix, both complemented one another.
 * Lord Commander Caturix - Rider of Gladius Fulmen. Alongside his fellow Lord Commander, Verticorda, Caturix were known as leaders whose shared command blended the warrior's heart with the diplomat's cool. He was the fellow master of the Knights of Taranis during the Great Crusade and the opening days of the Horus Heresy. Caturix was beloved for his fiery passion, which complemented his fellow commander's more cautious temperament.
 * Preceptor Stator - Rider of Fortis Metallum.
 * Raf Maven - Rider of the Imperial Paladin Equitos Bellum.
 * Leopold Cronus - Rider of Pax Mortis.

House Colours
With such strong connections to the Forge World of Mars, House Taranis has ever borne the red of the Adeptus Mechanicus as its livery.

House Arms
The name of House Taranis is heavy with the weight of deeds performed in an ancient time steeped in infamy. Yet even before the dark days of the Horus Heresy, House Taranis bore the honour of being the first knightly house. In the 25th Millennium, Cheops Taranis, the house founder, united the two largest Knight spearhead formations on Mars by besting his rivals. The house emblem at this time was two spearheads on a red field. In 199.M32, Chefren Taranis led the charge in his Knight suit against an invading Ork horde. He single-handedly decimated the warlord's bodyguard of Ork Nobs and killed the greenskin leader. The coat of arms was changed at this time in recognition of such a valorous deed, which now included the House's name on a scroll centered below the shield, and three swords behind the shield. In 523.M35 the rule of Ankenaten Taranis marked a new age of independence for his house. He forged an alliance with the Fabricator-General that saw House Taranis gain rights of authority within the armies of Mars. Indeed, the crest of House Taranis bears the stylised cog of Mars at its centre, for the red planet of the Adeptus Mechanicus is its home world –- a fact that grants it peerless status amongst the other knightly houses of the Imperium. House Taranis has ever proudly borne the red of Mars as its livery, though this symbolic field has since been adopted by many of the other knightly houses that are directly aligned to the Adeptus Mechanicus. The sword that divides the crest of House Taranis from the demi-cog symbol of the newly founded Adeptus Mechanicus was added in the wake of the Horus Heresy. Raf Maven, a valiant Knight who not only survived, but went on to rebuild and rule House Taranis after the disastrous civil war on Mars, insisted on adding the emblem in honour of his kinsmen who died in the bitter fighting. This legacy combined with its illustrious home world ensures that Taranis is the foremost knightly house.

Livery and Honour Markings
Adeptus Mechanicus-aligned houses dedicated to the Machine God are less predisposed to tolerate personal heraldry, this does not, however, preclude individual differences. These Knightly houses often use white and black on their Knight's main carapace. Also of note is the common black-and-white half toning of the Knight's faceplate, an homage to the Opus Machina of the Adeptus Mechanicus. House Taranis follows convention for the design of its banners. Of note it their use of the cog symbol that sits between the full house crest and their honour markings. These large icons are highly formalised. The exact composition has meaning and can denote rank. On the left is the banner of Sir Xantek. His recognition numbers (two of five) are ensconced within the test-pattern layout of the techno-magi. Sir Soberan, on the right, has a double cog. This represents his suit's initiation into the Cult Mechanicus to the second degree.

Gallery
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