Jennika Tan Draconis

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The crest of House Draconis

Hailing from the Knight World of Adrastapol, Jennika Tan Draconis is the older sister of High King Danial Tan Draconis. The High King appointed her as First Knight of House Draconis' ruling council in recognition of the skill as a warrior she displayed during the Donatos War.

On Adrastapol, she is justly celebrated as the slayer of Gerraint Tan Chimaeros, the would-be usurper who led the Renegade House Chimaeros and House Wyvorn to betray the Emperor and to kill her father, High King Tolwyn.

As the first female Knight appointed to this prestigious position in House Draconis' history, Jennika takes her duties extremely seriously, hoping to inspire more female Knights to pass their Rituals of Becoming and join House Draconis' fighting ranks. As the High King's right hand and supreme military commander of House Draconis, Jennika Tan Draconis has led the Imperial Knights of Adrastapol to dozens of beleaguered worlds, turning the tide of battle in favour of the Imperium countless times.

When the Orks of WAAAGH! Killfist fell upon her homeworld, Jennika Tan Draconis reluctantly decided not to fight the invaders, instead attaching herself to Inquisitor Tane Massata who had arrived on the eve of this Second Ork War.

This decision ultimately saved Adrastapol from destruction, for her exemplary conduct during the Inquisitor's mission made him reconsider his judgement of Adrastapol as a world hopelessly corrupted by Chaos and abort the Exterminatus action he had already ordered unleashed upon the Knight World.

History

Jennika Tan Draconis is the first child of High King Tolwyn Tan Draconis and High Queen Polenna. As a female, Jennika was prevented by custom from serving as her father's heir, a fate that was cemented by the birth of her younger brother, the current High King of Adrastapol, Danial Tan Draconis.

Jennika's early years were spent in the company of her younger brother and his childhood friend, Luk Tan Chimaeros, the future Knight of Ashes. Such were the bonds of friendship forged in those years that even during the Second Ork War the three would blindly follow each other into the thickest fight. Perhaps it was ultimately this close proximity with the male heirs of House Draconis and House Chimaeros that guided Jennika's steps to pass her own Ritual of Becoming and become a fully-fledged warrior of House Draconis.

Like her brother, Jennika Tan Draconis was trained in the arts of war by High King Tolwyn's greatest warrior, his Herald, Markos Dar Draconis. Having bonded with the Knight Paladin Fire Defiant, Jennika fought in several smaller engagements that provided her an edge the younger Knights did not possess when the Adrastapolian Nobles were ordered by the Imperium to reconquer the rebellious world of Donatos Primus.

The Donatos War 

By the time the Industrial World of Donatos Primus revolted against the Imperium, Jennika Tan Draconis had grown into a beautiful woman. As the daughter of the High King, her hand was coveted by numerous Nobles. Yet Jennika refused to consider marriage. Her skills as a warrior had been noticed by all, even her father, who had elevated her to his Exalted Court.

As Gatekeeper of the Draconspire, her primary task was the defence of that mighty fortress, House Draconis' ancestral home. Yet High King Tolwyn wished to keep an eye on both his children, and so decreed that both Danial and Jennika would accompany him to wage war on those who had turned from the Emperor's Light.

House Draconis was not the only Knight House to heed the Imperium's call, for the four other Houses of Adrastapol had also pledged their strength to service on Donatos. Each House's lord travelled with his or her full Exalted Court and a sizable retinue of Knights and Sacristans to the war zone. En route, the Adrastapolian Knights were joined by the promised Imperial reinforcements -- several regiments of the Astra Militarum, comprised primarily of Cadian Shock Troops and Mubraxis Dustdogs.

The reconquest of Donatos Primus -- or the "Donatos War" as it was later called -- initially went well for the Imperial troops. In accordance with High King Tolwyn's plan, the Loyalist forces landed on the Pentakhost Peninsula with the dual objective of capturing the freight terminal located on the shores of the Raekesh Ocean and using the peninsula's bottleneck to establish a clear beachhead for the following Imperial invasion.

First in line were the Imperial Knights of the various Adrastapolian Houses. Using their Drop Keeps, larger and more heavily-armed versions of the Drop Pods commonly fielded by the Adeptus Astartes, the Knights of House Draconis, House Minotos, House Chimaeros, House Wyvorn and House Pegasson easily outmatched the opposing Chaos Cultists and Renegade Planetary Defence Forces manning the peninsula before pushing on to the enemy's main stronghold, the Valle Electrum.

During this early stage of the war, Jennika Tan Draconis commanded her own lance of Knights. Frequently she fought alongside her former mentor, the King's Herald Markos Dar Draconis, as they guided young Knights entering combat for the very first time such as her younger brother Danial and their mutual friend, Luk Tan Chimaeros.

Pressing northwards from their base camp, High King Tolwyn's army made good progress. The enemy's best troops, the dreaded Scribed Blade warband of Word Bearers Chaos Space Marines, were mysteriously absent from the battlefield and the Imperial forces won a series of resounding victories.

Because they were operating for the most part in densely-packed urban terrain, the Imperial Knights were largely relegated to a support role, as the brunt of the fighting fell to the men and women of the 454th Cadian Regiment, a unit that specialised in the bloody business of urban warfare.

Within a few solar weeks, High King Tolwyn's army had crossed the continent and had lain siege to the Valle Electrum. As was his habit, on the eve of battle, the High King convened a great war council where he explained his plans for the following day, unwittingly revealing to the Traitors in their midst his entire battle plan.

Betrayal in the Valle Electrum

On the following day, the Imperial forces suffered a crushing defeat when the troops of House Chimaeros and House Wyvorn suddenly switched allegiance mid-battle. Caught between the enemy's fortifications to the front and the ranks of Renegade Knights to his rear, High King Tolwyn and his Loyalist Knights suffered considerable casualties. The High King himself was slain covering the retreat of the remaining forces of House Pegasson, House Minotos and House Draconis.

For all the chaos which surrounded her during the battle and retreat, Jennika Tan Draconis was one of the few Knights to keep a level head. Her first concern was for the security of her brother, and she personally defended Danial's life from those ambitious Renegade Knights who sought to earn their lord's favour by killing the High King's son and designated heir.

With the enemy having knocked out all of their communications through the use of sorcery and heretek, it was also Jennika who first thought to revert back to the use of Squire's Code, a rudimentary sign language consisting of raising and lowering a Knight's autopennants to convey messages and coordinate their efforts. This innovation kept the retreat from becoming a rout.

Joined by their old mentor, Markos Dar Draconis, the trio held the line, picking up Loyalist survivors as they retreated according to the High King's final orders. Among them was Sword of Heroes, Luk Tan Chimaeros' damaged Knight.

Conflicting emotions reigned within the small group of survivors upon meeting up with the young Chimaeros scion. While Danial was relieved to see his best friend unharmed, the veteran amongst them, Markos Dar Draconis, was loathe to trust a Knight of House Chimaeros so quickly, even threatening to kill his former pupil should he make any aggressive movement against them. It took all of Jennika's tact and diplomacy to prevent the situation from degenerating into cold-blooded murder.

While through Tolwyn's tactical acumen and ultimate sacrifice the Imperial Knights had survived the betrayal, their numbers had been severely depleted. After the disastrous end of the First Battle of the Valle Electrum, the combined strength of the three remaining Loyalist Houses barely numbered more than fifty Knights.

Fortunately for Jennika and her fellow Nobles, a sizable portion of their Houses' Sacristans had accompanied the retreat, offering House Draconis and its allies at least the possibility of replenishing their depleted stocks of ammunition and repairing their severely damaged steeds. The bulk of the 454th Cadian had also accompanied them, keeping a wary eye on the Adrastapolian Nobles for fear of yet another betrayal.

The retreating army followed High King Tolwyn's last order to the letter, traveling through vast, empty portions of Donatos' urban landscape to a series of coordinates designated Rally Point Zeta-Lamda-Rho. There the Loyalists discovered a network of long-abandoned underground storage hangars, vast enough to accommodate their Knights. It was the perfect place to lie low and lick their wounds.

Coronation

Having found a safe haven, Jennika mourned the passing of her father in isolation, crying hot tears of grief within the cockpit of Fire Defiant. Yet Jennika knew she couldn't tarry for long. With High King Tolwyn's death, the Loyalist Knights would be looking for guidance from the royal bloodline of House Draconis. While younger and less-experienced than herself, the crown rightfully belonged to Danial for he was the Kingsward, Tolwyn's designated heir.

Pushing aside the momentary temptation of claiming the crown for herself, Jennika exited her cockpit with dry eyes, resolved to become her brother's closest advisor and supporter. She would be the necessary voice of reason within Danial's council, warding him from ill-fated decisions such as giving in to the thirst for vengeance against House Chimaeros as Markos Dar Draconis was likely to suggest.

Barely having time to share a moment of grief, brother and sister were soon confronted with the reality of ruling when Markos pressed, as expected, for the Kingsward's judgment on the fate of Luk Tan Chimaeros. Despite much proof of Luk's innocence, a large number of Knights, including Markos himself, sought to execute Luk simply for being the son of the Usurper King Gerraint Tan Chimaeros, the man who had slain Tolwyn and stolen his crown.

What began as a simple interrogation quickly transformed into an outright trial as the surviving Knights of all three Houses gathered around the initially small group formed by Danial, Jennika, Sire Olric Dar Draconis, Markos and his prisoner. Many of the veterans openly accused Luk of being a spy for his father, but in the end the evidence of Luk's continued loyalty and his lack of foreknowledge of his father's betrayal was enough to clear Danial's best friend from all the charges levelled against him.

With the question of Luk's fate resolved, the High King had other matters to attend to such as reassuring their Cadian allies of the Knights' loyalty and organising the repair-crews. High Sacristan Polluxis of House Draconis soon retired to the bowels of his own Sacristan Crawler to fashion a new, temporary crown to be used in High King Danial's official coronation.

In a simple ceremony, Danial Tan Draconis was proclaimed the new High King of Adrastapol. To show that she had abandoned all claim to the crown for herself, Jennika acted as the new king's Herald during this ceremony, placing the newly-forged crown on her brother's brow and thus becoming the first person to proclaim "All hail the High King!" which marked the start of the new reign.

The Knight of Ashes

Over the next three local days Jennika advised her brother as best she could, but in truth once the Cadians had been reassured that the surviving Knights still served the Emperor there was precious little for the Nobles to do except to wait for the Sacristans to finish their repairs.

This forced period of inactivity didn't sit well with several Draconis Knights and especially not with the former king's Herald. Frustrated with being unable to vent his anger on their true enemies, Markos turned his gaze to the closest perceived enemy at hand: Luk Tan Chimaeros.

A visibly agitated Knight of House Draconis, Sire Vancenz, came to fetch the High King and his closest advisors, shouting that a duel had been called. Guided by Sire Vancenz, Jennika, Danial and Sire Olric rushed to the location of the duel where a large crowd of idle Adrastpolians had already gathered. Many of them openly cheered for Markos, braying for the young Chimaeros Noble's blood.

While first Danial and then Jennika tried to reason with the duellists, the strict tenures of the Code Chivalric prevented them for interrupting the duel. With growing concern for their friend, Jennika and Danial watched as Markos gradually gained the upper hand.

When Markos lost hold of his weapon, the duel quickly turned into a fistfight where Markos used his superior weight and sheer brutality to weaken Luk. Yet, in the end, it was the younger Noble who emerged victorious.

To prevent further challenges, Luk Tan Chimaeros made two important decisions. The first was to spare Markos' life although it would have been well within his rights to execute him as part of the duel; the second was to bend the knee and ask Danial to be his witness as he recited the Freeblade Oath and renounced his prior House and identity. Luk Tan Chimaeros ceased to exist in that moment. Forever after, he would be known as the Knight of Ashes.

Opportunities

As the duel concluded, important news reached the High King. Two sentries of the 454th Cadian Regiment had spotted a party of House Chimaeros Knights searching for the location of their hidden encampment.

Danial and his advisors realised that if the Traitors of House Chimaeros still followed the basic tenets of the Chivalric Code this meant that their progress would be overseen by one of their senior commanders. By tracking one of these search parties back to their camp, the Traitors could unwittingly lead the Loyalists directly to one of their headquarters.

With the likes of Sire Markos and Sire Garath urging the High King to take action, a plan of attack was agreed upon. The High King would lead the majority of the Loyalists against the enemy, while Jennika remained behind with two lances of Knights and the Cadian infantry to watch over Zeta-Lamda-Rho, for the Sacristans needed protection while trying to reestablish communications with other Imperial forces.

The High King left strict orders with his sister and Major Kovash of the 454th Cadian to evacuate Zeta-Lamda-Rho after 24 solar hours, regardless of their return or not. Should the worst happen, Jennika would then lead the retreat back to the Penthakhost Peninsula and leave Donatos Primus.

What had been intended as a precautionary measure soon turned into bitter reality when the enemy discovered Zeta-Lambda-Rho. Through a mixture of sorcerous and scientific means, the Dark Mechanicum forces allied with the Word Bearers were able to pinpoint the Loyalists' location.

Unwilling to trust his treacherous allies in House Chimaeros and House Wyvorn, the Dark Apostle Varakh'Lorr unleashed a force of Chaos Cultists and Renegade PDF troops commanded by his Heretic Astartes and supported by the Daemon Engines of the Dark Mechanicum.

Jennika's Knights and the Cadian Guardsmen proceeded to defend their position from waves of enemy attackers. Three solar hours after the High King's deadline passed, the Loyalists still held the perimeter, but their situation had become desperate. Without further reinforcements, the Loyalist camp would need to be abandoned.

Just as as Jennika was about to order the Cadians to mount their Taurox APCs, the static within Jennika's Vox-system cleared and High Sacristan Polluxis' voice cut through, informing her that he had successfully developed powerful data-wards counteracting the enemy's scrap-code.

At the same time, the incubators on board the Sacristans' crawlers had produced the first batch of the renewed Heavenly Host which were promptly released. The flying swarm of Cherubim and the data-spikes and Auspexes they carried greatly enhanced Jennika's tactical view, giving her a clear count of the enemy's numbers.

Her heart sank as she realised the hours of hard fighting had barely put a dent in the foe, but then she heard a familiar voice over the Vox, that of Herald Markos Dar Draconis telling her the High King's party was on his heels. He informed her that they had fallen prey to yet another ambush, but while severely diminished, the High King's retinue still was large enough to deal with the threat at hand.

With the towering ruins of Donatos' industrial landscape to mask their advance, the returning Knights charged the enemy's vulnerable rear. Eager to mete out vengeance, the Knights around Markos Dar Draconis charged the enemy's flanks, tearing through an armoured battalion to reach the small cadre of Chaos Space Marines coordinating the attack. Markos concentrated the fire of seven Knights at the small group of corrupted transhuman warriors and a deluge of fire swallowed them, leaving nothing but ashes in its wake.

Their best warriors slain in spectacular fashion, the Chaos army soon lost its will to fight and fractured. Jennika rallied her Knights and charged into the retreating foe, cutting the enemy army in two before circling back and joining Markos and his troops in the massacre of the survivors. By the end of the day the vast plaza was choked with enemy bodies, while the mounted unit of the Cadian 454th mopped up what remained.

With both Sword of Heroes and Oath of Flames damaged in the enemy ambush, both the High King and the Knight of Ashes arrived only after the fighting had ended. Amidst the ruins of battle, the Sacristan Crawlers at once set to repair the stricken suit of Knight-armour. Without having to be asked, every surviving Knight gathered around the High King and his council.

In the back and forth of voices, Jennika soon learned what had happened. The enemy had claimed to hold Alicia Kar Manticos, Luk's mother, hostage and demanded their surrender in exchange for her life; upon the High King's refusal Alicia had revealed herself not only as being in league with their enemies but also a powerful psyker, and she had then attempted to kill the High King, her own son and their warriors by dropping almost an entire cliff onto their heads.

The High King Marches To War

As High King Danial remained silent, many other Knights voiced their concerns. The second ambush had sapped the Knights of their strength, they argued, and the safest course of action was now to retreat to the Pentakhost Peninsula in an attempt to maintain a foothold on the planet.

Jennika stepped forward to halt the calls for retreat. Access to the planetary Vox-network had confirmed that while it still was under Imperial control, the Pentakhost Bridgehead was increasingly under pressure and would likely fall before the last Loyalist Imperial Knights would be able to reach it, a course of action which would see them trapped on Donatos Primus.

The new losses sparked the fires of vengeance in many a heart and those Knights argued that retreat was unthinkable and that they should be taking the fight to the enemy, even if they forfeited their lives in the process. Again Jennika refused to consider such a suicidal course of action. The discussion was abruptly cut short by the High King.

Danial would not countenance any actions that led to retreat. The enemy was scattered on many fronts and believed the Knights slain, which created the perfect conditions for a surprise attack on the Valle Electrum. Danial argued that they stood at the crux of a simple choice whose ramifications would lead either to the loss of Donatos or the victory of the Imperial forces.

Jennika was the first to support her brother, which cemented his authority. With the Herald Markos also throwing his support behind the new High King, no other Knights dared to go against the decision. There would be no retreat for the Scions of Adrastapol. While a second attack on the Pass Primus was deemed out of question, having overheard scraps of Vox-traffic between Imperial Navy Bomber Wings and their carriers, Jennika was able to provide the remaining Imperial Knights with a viable target: the Nortus Maximal, a secondary entry to the heavily fortified Pass Primus where their first attack had failed.

As soon as the Sacristans had finished what repairs they could, High King Danial led his remaining 26 survivors through the wartorn industrial landscape to their final objective.

Upon their arrival, the Adrastapolians discovered that they were not the only army still opposing the chaotic hordes as Sheik Halna'sir of the Mubraxis Dustdogs was laying siege to the Nortus Maximal. Guided by the formerly disgraced Commander Korgh of the Donatosian Planetary Defense Forces, the Sheik had rallied several armoured companies of the 454th Cadian and the remnants of the 601st Tanhollis regiment around him and captured a hardened Vox-relay bunker powerful enough to reach the vessels of the Imperial Navy in high orbit. From there, the Sheik had coordinated a massive bombing campaign on the Nortus Maximal which had severely weakened the enemy's defenses. Lacking the protection offered by Sacristan Polluxis' datawards, the Astra Militarum and Imperial Navy had however been unable to truly penetrate into the Valle Electrum proper.

Sources

• Kingsblade (Novel) by Andy Clark
• Knightsblade (Novel) by Andy Clark