House Coldshroud, also known as the "Gryphon Sires," is a Loyalist Imperial Knight vassal-house of the Questor Mechanicus. The Scions of House Coldshroud are drawn from the Octad, the stellar region around Gryphonne IV ruled over by that Forge World.
As long as Gryphonne IV has existed, favoured families have given up their sons and daughters to the ranks of House Coldshroud, there being few higher honours.
House Coldshroud is relentless in its service to the Legio Gryphonicus and fought at their side throughout the Great Crusade and into the Horus Heresy. During the Invasion of Paramar V, House Coldshroud faced overwhelming Traitor forces, ultimately covering their allied Titan Legion's retreat and paving the way for the retaking of the planet with the lives of their Scions.
House History[]
House Coldshroud colour scheme as displayed by a Knight Paladin.
From the earliest days of the Great Crusade to the dark years of the Horus Heresy, it was a rare sight for the god-engines of the Legio Gryphonicus to march to war without the Knights of House Coldshroud alongside them. The household, sworn to serve the Forge World of Gryphonne IV during the Age of Strife, drew its warriors from the sons and daughters of favoured noble families across the Gryphonne Octad, a pocket empire of eight star systems ruled from Gryphonne IV.
Such children were given willingly, for there exists no greater honour in the Octad than to ascend to the Throne Mechanicum and bestride the galaxy in service to the War Griffons. This lengthy history of service ensured that House Coldshroud remains one of the oldest bonded Knight houses known to the Imperium, evidenced by the heraldry of the household being that of the Legio Gryphonicus itself.
When the Legio Gryphonicus departed the Octad as part of the Great Crusade, so too did the warriors of Coldshroud, sallying forth to earn glories few others could match.
In war, the Knights of Coldshroud operate as vanguard fighters for the Legio Gryphonicus, ranging far ahead of its god-engines in search of foes. The disposition of warriors within House Coldshroud is founded upon noble lineage and honours earned in battle, set down before each war zone so none could question a commander's legitimacy in the heat of conflict.
Each warrior of Coldshroud was taught to respect and honour those raised above them, with the princeps of a god-engine standing higher than even the grand master of the household, except in matters that dealt solely with the workings of the house.
Favouring rigid command structures, it became common for banners of Coldshroud Knights to be bonded to specific Titan or war maniples, each Scion sworn in service to nominated princeps until such a time as they were released from service, by command or by death. This process served to forge unbreakable bonds between House Coldshroud and the Legio Gryphonicus, a bond that has never faltered in the face of millennia of trials. No more evident is the unwavering sense of duty those of Coldshroud hold then in their actions during the Horus Heresy.
House Coldshroud Knight Magaera Vainglory depicted the Horus Heresy.
Not a single recorded instance speaks of its warriors questioning an order to fight those once deemed allies and many warriors of Coldshroud spilt blood in service to their masters. The greatest singular loss of life amongst House Coldshroud came during the First Battle for Paramar V, where dozens of its number stood firm against overwhelming Traitor forces to buy time for those of the Legio Gryphonicus to withdraw, the names of those that fell forever remembered by the people of the Octad.
The close ties House Coldshroud hold with the Legio Gryphonicus ensure its numbers rarely take to the field of battle in strength except in support of the War Griffons. On rare occasions, determined by operational needs, the warriors of House Coldshroud would be granted complete autonomy and deployed en masse. Under such circumstances, the household's Scions would serve within the bounds of strict hierarchies, with the composition of its banners remaining fixed across battlefields rather than adapting to meet changing circumstances.
It is a testament to the skill of House Coldshroud that such rigidity has rarely proved detrimental to its prowess in battle, for the determination and valour of its warriors brought victory where other soldiers of lesser quality would falter. Even the dire revelations of the Horus Heresy did little to shake the ironclad resolve of the warriors of Coldshroud, for all were filled with a sense of righteousness that, within the shadow of the Legio Gryphonicus, the deeds of House Coldshroud would forever be just.
Notable Campaigns[]
- First Battle of Paramar (673.006.M31) - House Coldshroud Knights assisted the Legio Gryphonicus in its battle with the Traitor Legio Fureans at the Paramar Nexus spaceport during the First Battle of Paramar V. Though the Loyalists were driven from the world, the Legio Fureans took heavy casualties from the Loyalist defenders.
- Battle of Beta-Garmon, "The Titandeath" (006-013.M31) - House Coldshroud took part in the long and savage Beta-Garmon campaign, which included hundreds of war zones across dozens of worlds. During this conflict, House Coldshroud provided Knight support, as always, to the Legio Gryphonicus. Even before the greater armies of the Warmaster Horus reached the star cluster, the battle lines had long since been drawn, and fighting had been going on for many Terran years. It was a cauldron of battle that would consume millions of lives before its end and see the demise of entire Titan Legions, earning this campaign the dire moniker of the "Titandeath." The Beta-Garmon Cluster, also known as the gateway to the throneworld of Terra, was the last hurdle that the Warmaster Horus' forces had to overcome before they reached the Imperium's capital world. Heavily fortified by the Loyalists, Beta-Garmon would become one of the greatest and bloodiest battles of the Horus Heresy, as well as one of the longest-lasting.
- Battle of Tallarn (010-011.M31) - House Coldshroud Knights supported Legio Gryphonicus Titans against the Iron Warriors' assault on the once-verdant world of Tallarn.
Notable Knights[]
- Vainglory (Questoris Knight Magaera) - The Vainglory, as depicted above, was a relic Knight Magaera that served during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy eras. Such patterns piloted by a Scion of House Coldshroud was considered a mark of shame for having acted dishonourably.
- Falchion-LVI (Cerastus Knight Lancer - Falchion-LVI was manufactured on Gryphonne IV at the outbreak of the Horus Heresy, as part of that Forge World's efforts to bolster the Imperium's defence against the inexorable advance of the Warmaster Horus' hosts. Falchion-LVI was first deployed to Paramar V, where it stood firm against the furious charge of the massed Knights of House Perdaxia, and later served on Tallarn alongside the famous Legio Gryphonicus Warlord-class Titan Iron Regent.
- Resplendent in Honour (Cerastus Knight-Castigator) - This Knight armour, depicted below, bore two stylised griffons (one on each shoulder guard) which were earned by Resplendent in Honour during the Great Crusade and represented the bond this Knight held with the Legio Gryphonicus Warlord Titan Argent Monarch, having been seconded to the god-engine's service for over seven solar decades by the outset of the Horus Heresy.
Notable Personnel[]
None listed in current Imperial records.
House Strength[]
As befitting its primary role as vanguards for the Legio Gryphonicus, the principal strength of House Coldshroud lies in the use of Cerastus Knight patterns, favoured for its worth as vanguard fighters. According to official records submitted to the Divisio Militaris, of the 389 Knight armours in operation under the banner of Coldshroud at the onset of the Horus Heresy, 238 of those were Cerastus Knight patterns, split evenly between the three most common variants: Lancer, Acheron and Castigator. This marked Coldshroud as a Primaris-grade household.
The remaining strength of the household consisted of a standard spread of Knight patterns, including numerous Questoris patterns and several Acastus patterns, the latter of which were frequently bound to Warbringer Nemesis and Warlord Titans, to serve as a mobile deterrent against any force seeking to disrupt the firebase of the larger god-engines.
Despite the blessed technological relics employed by such relic Knight armours as the Knight Magaera, the piloting of such a Knight armour within House Coldshroud was used as a mark of shame. Those Knight Scions who had acted dishonourably were appointed to the Throne Mechanicum of both Knights Magaera and Knights Styrix as penance for their actions. Much of this shame came from the sinister nature of the pattern's Machine Spirit, which often displayed a bloodthirsty demeanour.
Such Knight armours were still prized relics amongst the household despite this reputation, allowing the chastised Scion opportunity to regain their honour through overcoming the darkness within the Knight armour while displaying renewed adherence to the house tenets in defiance of adversity.
Long-term assessment of House Coldshroud's strength is more difficult, for the casualty rate of a bonded Knight vassal-house is considerably greater than that of an autonomous household, a fact attributed to the scale of threats such a household faces when serving in the shadow of its Legio masters.
House Allies[]
Loyalist Titan Legios[]
- Legio Gryphonicus (Bound as vassal-house to the Forge World of Gryphonne IV in service to the Legio Gryphonicus)
Space Marine Legions[]
- Iron Warriors (Loyalist)
House Appearance[]
House Colours[]
The heraldry and iconography worn by House Coldshroud closely follow those of the Titan Legion under which they are bonded to serve. Though they bear their own icon, the colours of this Knight household are derived from their parent Legio. The colours of House Coldshroud are golden-yellow and mottled grey. This heraldry symbolises their vassal service to the Legio Gryphonicus.
Almost exclusively, vassal-house armours are much more uniform in their heraldry than their Imperial house counterparts, bearing little or none of the individual iconography, motifs and devices that describe the Scion's many noble deeds. Bonded as they are to the service of their Adeptus Titanicus masters, vassal-house Scions such as those of House Coldshroud live and die by the orders of their masters.
Knights of House Coldshroud often bear griffon motifs in homage to the Legio Gryphonicus they serve. Although no official edict forbade the use of decorative griffons by all, it was deemed unseemly for a Scion of Coldshroud to do so without having first been recognised for an honourable act upon the battlefield in service to a princeps of their parent Legio.
Kill Markings[]
Example kill-markings of the Cerastus Knight-Lancer Falchion-LVI, as displayed upon one of the Knight's greaves and honour banner.
As Vassal Knights, House Coldshroud exist soley to serve their Adeptus Titanicus masters and only make account of their own kills if they are especially significant. However, many are granted the right to share the glories of their overlords and so bear a range of kill-markings.
Many Knight armours of House Coldshroud utilise the distinctive chess piece icons used by the War Griffons to represent various classes of Titan -- skulls for multiple heavy Battle Titan kills (the majority most likely Warlords), a knight piece represents a Scout Titan kill (most likely a Warhound). If one of these kill-markings are borne on a Knight's honour banner, this would suggest that the Knight had a direct hand in the kill, rather than it being a victorious honour.
House Arms[]
The arms of House Coldshroud at the time of the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy consisted of a double-headed eagle upon which was centred the icon of the Collegia Titanica.
The arms of House Coldshroud in the 41st Millennium consists of a griffon and a knight helmet facing each other, centred within the Cog Mechanicum, the symbol of the Adeptus Mechanicus. The crest of House Coldshroud symbolises the unbreakable bond between the Legio Gryphonicus and the Knight Scions of their vassal-house.
Sources[]
- Adeptus Titanicus - The Horus Heresy: Loyalist Legios (Specialty Game), pp. 34-37
- Adeptus Titanicus - The Horus Heresy: Titandeath (Specialty Game), pp. 30, 93
- The Horus Heresy - Book Three: Extermination (Forge World Series) by Alan Bligh, pg. 160
- White Dwarf 24 (August 2018), "Parade Ground - The God-Machines March," pg. 103
- White Dwarf 30 (February 2019), "Vassal Knight Houses," pp. 130, 132-133
Gallery[]
