The Castigator-class Titan, also known as the "Father of Titans," was a highly-advanced relic of the Dark Age of Technology discovered upon the Forge World of Chaeronia in the 41st Millennium by the Grey Knights. It was a completely autonomous Titan, controlled by an artificial general intelligence, and it claimed to be the very first Titan ever built, from which all the patterns of Imperial Titans built by the Adeptus Mechanicus were derived, albeit far more crudely.
The presence of the Castigator's pattern in a Standard Template Construct database also discovered on Chaeronia lent authenticity to this claim. The Castigator was ultimately destroyed by the Grey Knights after they learned the Titan had been corrupted by Chaos during Chaeronia's long sojourn in the Warp and possessed by a Daemon.
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What is the significance of the Castigator-class Titan in the Warhammer 40k universe?
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History[]
Discovered upon the lost Forge World of Chaeronia, the artificially intelligent Castigator-class Titan was a completely autonomous bipedal weapons platform, the first and only one of its kind ever built. Called the "Father of Titans," the Castigator claimed to be the "original" Titan, as it was first designed during the Dark Age of Technology, and that all subsequent Titan designs were but crude, incomplete copies of it poorly understood and recreated by the ancient Mechanicum of Mars.
The Castigator was originally lost on what later became the Adeptus Mechanicus Forge World of Chaeronia during the Age of Technology and remained lost even when the planet was pulled into the Warp thousands of standard years later. During its time in the Warp, the artificially intelligent Titan made a pact with the Black Legion that had established an outpost on Chaeronia: by allowing a Daemon to possess it, it would be empowered by the Warp. The Castigator and Chaeronia remained in the Warp for a Terran millennia and its artificial intelligence forgot much of what happened during that time, including being possessed. The Castigator was discovered by the Imperium when the planet reemerged from the Warp by a force of Grey Knights led by Justicar Alaric and his battle-brothers.
The only known Castigator-class Titan was ultimately destroyed by Alaric and his battle-brothers. When Alaric confronted the Castigator, its artificial intelligence did not believe it was possessed by a Daemon until Alaric convinced it of the truth, at which point the Titan's possessing Daemon appeared and it was slain by Alaric. Alaric then destroyed the Castigator while his battle-brothers Dvorn and Haulvarn destroyed the Titan's STC database to prevent either from falling into the hands of nearby Chaos forces. However, fragments of data from the Titan's STC were collected by the Adeptus Mechanicus for archiving and study.
Design[]
The Castigator's design was stored in a Standard Template Construct database also present on Chaeronia. As a result of its ancient provenance, the Castigator made use of highly-advanced, long-lost technologies such as rapid self-repair routines and a synthetic, muscle-like locomotive system.
Standing larger than even the Imperator-class Emperor Titans, the head of the Castigator notably did not jut from its chest like on most Imperial Titan patterns but actually was above the shoulders, matched by an elegant yet super heavy and very well-armoured chassis and impossibly-graceful movement. It was indeed far superior to any class of Titan utilised by the Adeptus Mechanicus or any other intelligent starfaring species in the galaxy. It was also the only known Titan controlled autonomously by an artificial general intelligence rather than a Human princeps and other crew and the only known Titan to have been made by an STC.
Its weapons included an arm-mounted melee weapon and a super-heavy, multi-barrelled cannon that fired Daemons. The ability to fire Daemons was later found to be due to the pact the Castigator's artificial general intelligence had formed with the Chaos Gods through the Black Legion.
Sources[]
- The Grey Knights Omnibus (Omnibus Novel) by Ben Counter, "Dark Adeptus", Ch. 7
| Titans | |
|---|---|
| Scout Titans | Rapier-class Titan • Warhound-class Titan (Wolf-class Titan • Mastiff-class Titan • Jackal-class Titan) |
| Heavy Scout Titans | Dire Wolf-class Titan |
| Battle Titans | Reaver-class Titan • Carnivore-class Titan • Mirage-class Titan • Komodo-class Titan • Executor-class Titan • Warbringer Nemesis-class Titan • Punisher-class Titan • Warlord-class Titan (Death Bringer-class Titan • Eclipse-class Titan • Nightgaunt-class Titan • Nemesis-class Titan • Warlord-Sinister-class Psi-Titan) • Siege Titan • Apocalypse-class Titan |
| Heavy Battle Titans | Warmaster-class Titan (Warmaster Iconoclast-class Titan) |
| Emperor Titans | Imperator-class Titan • Warmonger-class Titan |
| Chaos Titans | Subjugator Scout Titan • Questor Scout Titan • Feral-class Titan • Ravager-class Titan • Banelord-class Titan • Plaguelord-class Titan • Painlord-class Titan • Warplord-class Titan |
| STC Titan | Castigator-class Titan |