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The Kinebrach were a species of simian-like humanoid aliens who co-existed with the humans of the Interex culture before the Great Crusade. Long before humanity had spread across the stars from their homeworld of Terra, the Kinebrach ruled a large and mighty interstellar empire located among the worlds of the Segmentum Pacificus known in the late 41st Millennium as the Kahn Group, including what is now the Fortress World of Jago. However, by the time the humans of the Interex made first contact with them, the Kinebrach empire was old and decaying. The Kinebrach, rather than go to war against a more vibrant and powerful species, decided to ally themselves with humanity instead. Thus, the Kinebrach were taken under the wing of the Interex, with certain limitations placed upon them. The foremost of these was that no Kinebrach was allowed to carry arms, save in times of war. Those Kinebrach who did join the Interex military usually served as shock troops due to their physically powerful, stocky build.

Kinebrach technology, at the time of the Interex's first contact with the Imperium of Man, was very advanced. In some ways, it was even more advanced than that of the Imperium at its height in the Great Crusade-era of the early 31st Millennium, though Kinebrach military technology lagged somewhat behind its Imperial equivalents. This was one reason why the Interex was able to progress so quickly as a unified culture. The Kinebrach's weapons, in particular, were of interest to both the Interex and the Imperium, as they had clear ties to the Chaos powers.

One example was a blade known as an Anathame that was dedicated to and blessed by the Chaos God Nurgle. If the name of a target was spoken to the blade, the weapon would become inimical to that being on an almost molecular level, producing poisons and toxins tailored specifically to his or her genetic structure. One of these blades was stolen by the Word Bearers Legion's First Chaplain, Erebus, from the Hall of Devices in the Interex's Museum of Technology on the world of Xenobia. Commanded by the Warmaster Horus, the Imperium's 63rd Expeditionary Fleet had come to Xenobia in a failed diplomatic attempt to open peaceful relations between the Interex and the Imperium of Man. The Kinebrach Anathame was then used through a series of events orchestrated by Erebus to mortally injure Horus while he was in combat against the Forces of Chaos on the moon of the world of Davin. This mortal wound forced Horus' Astartes in the Luna Wolves Legion to bring him to the Temple of the Serpent Lodge on Davin in a desperate attempt to save his life. The temple's priests represented a native religion devoted to Chaos Undivided, and within its confines Horus was corrupted to the service of the Ruinous Powers.

The Kinebrach species was rendered extinct at some time shortly after the end of the Horus Heresy in the early 31st Millennium, according to Imperial xenoarcheologists. The Kinebrach produced a specific cultural artefact now called Eagle Stones, that were considered of great value by the Forces of Chaos known to be active during the Sabbat Worlds Crusade, especially the Blood Pact and the Sons of Sek.

Sources

  • The Sabbat Worlds Crusade (Background Book) by Dan Abnett, pg. 73
  • Horus Rising (Novel) by Dan Abnett
  • False Gods (Novel) by Graham McNeill
  • Galaxy in Flames (Novel) by Ben Counter
  • The Warmaster (Novel) by Dan Abnett, Ch. 18
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