The Knights-Errant were a mysterious body of Space Marine warriors that was formed at the express order of Malcador the Sigillite, the acting Regent of Terra, following the betrayal at Isstvan III during the opening days of the Horus Heresy in the early years of the 31st Millennium.
These agents of the Sigillite were made up of an ever-expanding band of elite Astartes drawn from every one of the Space Marine Legions, Loyalist and Traitor alike, each and every one an exemplar of the Emperor's vision for the champions of Humanity.
They were the pinnacle of the "Chosen of Malcador," a secret army sent to the far reaches of the Imperium of Man to prosecute the Sigillite's "Silent War" with the Praetorian of Terra, Primarch Rogal Dorn of the Imperial Fists Legion, and other missions the Sigillite determined vital to Imperial victory over the Traitors of the Warmaster Horus.
The Knights-Errant were entirely dedicated to Malcador's cause, which transcended even the immediate strategic concerns of the Horus Heresy, and proved vital to all that would come after it during the subsequent Age of the Imperium after the Traitors were finally cast out.
Eight of the Knights-Errant who possessed psychic abilities would form the nucleus and first leadership cadre known as "the Titans" of what became the Grey Knights Chapter of Astartes who served the Inquisition's Ordo Malleus as its Chamber Militant after the end of the Heresy.
History[]
In the solar decades that had passed since the culmination of the Horus Heresy and the onset of the period referred to as The Scouring, tacticae savants had identified a broad spectrum of categories into which many irregular forces of those conflicts could be placed.
At one end of this spectrum was to be found the body of warriors known as the "Knights-Errant." Imperial scholars know all but nothing of this mysterious group, other than it was formed at the express order of Malcador the Sigillite. The so-called "Chosen of Malcador" included many individuals from a wide range of backgrounds, but his Knights-Errant were all Space Marines, and many of these were the scions of the Traitor primarchs who had refused to follow their gene-fathers into treachery and chose instead to renounce their Legion and serve the Imperium directly at its highest level. All cast off their original Space Marine Legion heraldry and wore in its stead the gunmetal grey of bare ceramite and the Sigillite's own icon as their badge.
Little is now known of the highly secret missions the Knights-Errant undertook at the behest of the Regent of Terra throughout the Heresy, for many accounts have been deliberately suppressed, events went unrecorded at the time or reports were simply lost in the conflagration that descended upon Terra at the culmination of the Warmaster Horus' great betrayal.
Certainly, the Knights-Errant fought alone or in small groups against key foes identified by the Sigillite and in some cases aligned their interests with those of other Legion forces, serving side-by-side with conventional Legiones Astartes units when deemed necessary.
It is considered likely by some Imperial historitors that the Knights-Errant may have played a key, albeit mysterious role in the unseen "Silent War" that was waged between Malcador and the Imperial Fists Legion's Primarch Rogal Dorn, for both found their interests frequently in opposition during the Heresy.
As the Solar War gripped Humanity's star system of birth, the interests of the Sigillite and the Praetorian of Terra frequently clashed and while face-to-face the two remained cordial, if often coldly so, behind the scenes their agents and servants might very well have been murdering one another. The primarch believed the Horus Heresy would be won by erecting unassailable but conventional military defences around the Sol System, the Throneworld of Terra and the Imperial Palace. But the Sigillite was convinced that covert operations in the shadows, up to and including select missions of assassination, would prove most effective in defeating Horus' rebellion.
While both knew the other was utterly dedicated to the cause of the Emperor, they deeply disagreed on the means required to defend the Imperium from the Traitors' onslaught. Whether or not the Knights-Errant ever actually took up arms against other Loyalist forces is unknown, but it is certain that they undertook missions that furthered the long-term goals of the Regent of Terra at the expense of those of the Praetorian of Terra.
Crusader Host[]
At the conclusion of the Unification Wars, the Space Marine Legions stood upon the precipice of launching the Great Crusade, to depart the Sol System in a great many cases never to return. Before leaving at the head of the first great expeditionary fleets, each of the Legions mustered a party of Astartes who would remain on Terra and stand as their representatives before the Terran Council in all matters in which the Legions held a stake.
In addition, they would serve as an honour guard to watch over Terra and all that the Unification Wars had won Mankind. Perhaps most importantly, they would record the names of those Legionaries who would lay down their lives conquering the great darkness beyond the light of Sol, so that no sacrifice would ever be forgotten.
In accepting this honour, the Astartes of this so-called "Crusader Host" would be making an equally great sacrifice, for they would partake in none of the glory their brothers would win and all their victories would be won by proxy.
When the Warmaster Horus' betrayal was revealed at the Isstvan III Atrocity, the members of the Crusader Host were as one incarcerated by the Praetorian of Terra, Primarch Rogal Dorn. If one such as Horus could turn against the Master of Mankind, then who among the Crusader Host could be trusted?
At length, Dorn was satisfied that those of the Host drawn from his own Imperial Fists Legion were sound in their loyalties and he ordered them freed. Of the remainder, each is a tale in its own right. Some escaped, their fates unknown. A small number were freed on condition of their performing some great and vital task, such as service in the ranks of the Knights-Errant.
The ultimate fate of many of the Crusader Host is bound up in the events of the climax of the Horus Heresy, when total war came at last to Terra. One of its number, a former Luna Wolves Astartes by the name of Severian, helped the Sigillite in identifying potential Knights-Errant from both Loyalist and Traitor Legions alike. The Sigillite's intent was to gather each of those named by Severian and muster them into a cadre of Astartes warriors directly under his control, a band he would dub the Knights-Errant.
It fell to the most senior of these, the Agentia Primus Nathaniel Garro, a former battle-captain of the Death Guard and witness to the events of the Isstvan III Atrocity, to go forth into the galaxy and recruit all twenty selected by the Sigillite and Severian to his master's cause.
Notable Missions of the Knights-Errant[]
Calth (007.M31)[]
"You court death, Garro, like some ancient Knight-Errant."
--"That's as good a title as any, Brother."
- — Exchange between former Ultramarines Librarian Tylos Rubio and Nathaniel Garro during the Battle of Calth
In 007.M31, Agentia Primus Nathaniel Garro sought out Battle-Brother Tylos Rubio amongst the Astartes of the 21st Company of the Ultramarines Legion during the Battle of Calth, an extremely powerful psyker who had once been a Codicier in the Librarius of the XIIIth Legion before the Emperor's formal decree at the Council of Nikaea had banned the Space Marine Legions' use of psykers, including their own corps of Librarians.
Many Librarians resented the Decrees of Nikaea, but honoured their oath to the Emperor and surrendered their Librarian panoply and wargear, returning to the lines as ordinary battle-brothers. Rubio's commanding Captain Gaius had been killed in a Word Bearers' assault when a large force of Traitor Marines and Chaos Cultists nearly overwhelmed the 21st Company's battle lines. Garro arrived before the next assault and found Brother Rubio.
He explained to the perplexed Ultramarine that he was there on the orders of Malcador the Sigillite and that Rubio must come away with him. Rubio refused to leave his battle-brothers in the face of annihilation unless so ordered by the Emperor Himself. Much to Rubio's surprise, the honorable Garro respected his decision and agreed to stand and fight with him against the Word Bearers.
In the final assault, the Ultramarines were driven back in the face of overwhelming numbers, and sought cover within a cave. They were hard-pressed by the elite Word Bearers' Cataphractii-armoured Terminators. Brother Rubio was sorely tested, forced to restrain from using his innate psychic abilities, bound by his sacred oaths to the Emperor, even though he knew that by doing so he could have saved the lives of many of his fallen battle-brothers. Facing imminent death, Rubio felt that he had no other choice and unleashed a powerful psychic attack, driving the enemy back with the full force of his powers.
The tunnel collapsed in the process, burying the attacking Word Bearers Cataphractii under tons of rubble. The survivors of the 21st Company had been saved and the sole passage to the city of Numinus had been denied to the enemy. The cost of using his powers, however, was a grave one for Rubio -- his honour before his primarch and his Emperor. Garro told him to be grateful that he had saved his battle-brothers' lives at such a slight cost.
As Rubio approached his fellow Ultramarines, they averted their eyes and as one turned their backs, shunning him. Rubio had disobeyed a Decree Absolute of the Emperor, and for that, there was no forgiveness. Garro drew his power sword Libertas and Rubio spun at the sound of it, fixing Garro with a furious glare. Garro held the sword out, the point down towards the ground.
He had Rubio place his hand upon the blade to take an Oath of Moment, to dedicate himself to the orders of the Regent of Terra and put aside all other claims upon his honour. Rubio swore upon the blade and became a Knight-Errant, for he had little other choice.
Sword of Truth, Sol System (007.M31)[]
The second mission Garro undertook as a Knight-Errant was within the Sol System itself, when a rag tag fleet of Loyalists arrived in the Kuiper Belt, on the outskirts of the system.
This flotilla of hodge-podge vessels were comprised of small merchant starships led by the Daggerline which bore the heraldry of the traitorous World Eaters Legion. Stopped by Loyalist forces, the flotilla was ordered to stand down pending further investigation.
Aware of the situation, Malcador sent Garro, Tylos Rubio, and Khorarinn, a member of the Emperor's elite Legio Custodes, aboard the battleship Nolandia, to ascertain the true allegiance of this so-called "Loyalist" flotilla. Once they arrived, Garro insisted on making vox contact with the flotilla's de facto commander -- the former World Eaters Captain Macer Varren.
Khorarinn, Garro and Rubio then took a shuttle to the Daggerline to meet with Varren in person, and were surprised that besides the presence of Varren's warriors, there were other Astartes present from various Legions, including a small contingent of Emperor's Children led by Captain Rakatio, and the White Scars, led by Captain Hakim.
Events soon took place that seemed to incriminate the Emperor's Children as Traitors, but Garro, Rubio and Varren realised they had been duped when Captain Hakin's White Scars contingent callously murdered the few Emperor's Children Legionaries along with the arrogant Khorarinn. It turned out that Hakim and his warriors were, in actuality, both warrior lodge members, and Traitors loyal to Horus' cause. With Hakim's proclamation for Horus, the Human refugees began to panic and attempted to flee.
Obeying Khararrin's final orders, the Nolandia began to systematically destroy each fleeing vessel. Garro, Rubio and Varren rushed to the Daggerline's vox array in order to send a message to the Nolandia, ordering them to stand down, but found that the Daggerline 's officers had been murdered and the vox array damaged beyond their ability to repair.
In the ensuing melee, the Traitor White Scars murdered the remainder of Varren's men. The trio were soon confronted by a squad of White Scars led by Captain Hakim. Cornered, they faced imminent death, but fortunately, Rubio had taken the dead Custodian's teleport homer during the subsequent firefight, and activated it, which teleported the trio back aboard the Nolandia. Garro had the vessel stop attacking the refugee vessels, and ordered all weapons to be trained on the Daggerline.
He then offered the choice to Captain Varren, to either take the Traitor White Scars into custody, or to destroy them outright. Without hesitation, Varren gave the order to fire, destroying the Traitors' vessel.
Garro offered Varren a place within the Sigillite's Knights-Errant, to act as the Regent of Terra's "knife in the dark." Varren accepted, and joined this strange shadow brotherhood.
The Phalanx (ca. 007.M31)[]
Undertaking the next recruiting mission alone, Nathaniel Garro, armed only with his power sword Libertas, infiltrated the Imperial Fists' flagship -- the mobile-starfortress Phalanx.
Within the massive floating citadel lay a sealed chamber where the former Librarians of the VIIth Legion had been remanded into custody, under orders from Primarch Rogal Dorn, since the Emperor's Edict of Nikaea declared the dissolution of the Legiones Astartes Librarius several standard years earlier.
Disabling the Guard-servitors, Garro managed to open the sealed chamber, and was confronted by a group of six former Librarians. To Garro's astonishment, he learned that these Imperial Fists had had no outside contact with either their battle-brothers or their primarch in many standard years. They were unaware of what had occurred since they had withdrawn from the Great Crusade or of Horus' betrayal and the resulting galaxy-wide internecine conflict known as the Horus Heresy.
However, one of the Librarians, named Massic, confessed to having troubling dreams of conflict that currently raged in the galaxy, and of future events in regards to the terrible final battle that would inevitably come. Garro offered the Librarians an opportunity to join with him and put their powers to good use once more, but all of them refused to disobey their primarch's orders.
Before Garro could persuade them further, Rogal Dorn himself appeared, for Garro's presence had been detected the moment he came aboard. Demanding an explanation, Garro informed the primarch that he was under strict orders from the Sigillite not to reveal his mission to anyone, save Massic. Reluctantly, Dorn acquiesced to Garro's demand, and allowed the Agentia Primus and Massic to have the room to themselves for a few moments.
Garro explained to the Librarian how the Heresy came to be, and of the presence of Daemons amongst the Traitor Legions' ranks, as well as the founding and the purpose of Malcador's Knights-Errant. Much to Garro's surprise, Massic refused his offer to join, and explained to the Knight-Errant that he and his fellow Librarians would not disobey their primarch's orders, even if it meant they were to stay secluded for the remainder of their lives.
But Massic had faith, that when the time was right, they would eventually be called upon. Garro accepted Massic's explanation, and reluctantly took his leave. Before Garro departed the Phalanx, however, he was confronted by Dorn a final time, who warned the Agentia Primus, and through him, the Sigillite, not to test his forbearance again. Carrying the burden of being the Praetorian of Terra and fortifying both the Throneworld and the Sol System, he had no wish to have to keep a vigilant watch over his own supposed "allies" as well.
The primarch also explained to Garro that Malcador misunderstood his intent when it came to his psychic gene-sons -- he was not keeping the Librarians prisoner out of blind obedience to the Emperor's Decree Absolute, but to keep them safe from Chaos corruption until the day their abilities would be needed.
Isstvan III (007.M31)[]
Next, Garro and Macer Varren returned to Isstvan III, the site of Horus' great betrayal, with the express purpose of searching for a lost Astartes as a recruit to join the Knights-Errant. They encountered a handful of survivors who spoke of a beast that hunted them.
Taking matters into his own hands, Garro went to the lair of the so-called beast of Isstvan III, and on discovery of the long-dead corpse of the Sons of Horus Captain Tarik Torgaddon, he was attacked by the unkempt, nearly-psychotic Astartes called "Cerberus."
After a lengthy battle, during which Cerberus escaped, Garro and his companions discovered that the Human "survivors" of the virus-bombing of Isstvan III were in fact Daemonhosts who had been transformed into undead Plague Zombies of Nurgle when the virus-bombing had weakened the barrier between the Immaterium and Isstvan III, allowing the Plague Lord's influence to reign supreme on the barren world.
Garro and his Loyalist Astartes managed to defeat the foul creatures with the aid of Cerberus; however, once the undead had been destroyed, Garro and Cerberus once more faced one another in mortal combat. It was during this final fight that Garro managed to reach through the amnesia and fractured awareness of Cerberus to the core of the good man that remained deep within his psyche, reminding him of who he truly was, and that the Emperor still had a use for him in rooting out the corruption that was staining the Imperium.
Aware of his true identity once more, Garviel Loken joined Garro and his team. With his assemblage of warriors now complete, Garro and Loken left Isstvan III for Luna to receive their first true mission from Malcador the Sigillite.
Caliban (007.M31)[]
Garviel Loken was sent by Malcador on his first mission for the Knights-Errant to the Dark Angels' homeworld of Caliban, alongside his former comrade in the Luna Wolves Legion, Iacton Qruze. Their vital mission called for the Knights-Errant to ascertain both the Ist Legion's strengths and loyalty to their primarch Lion El'Jonson. Infiltrating the Dark Angels' fortress-monastery of Aldurukh, Loken allowed himself to be captured by the Dark Angels.
Shackled and bound, he soon found himself being interrogated by Caliban's regent, Luther. Identifying himself only as "Cerberus," Luther was still able to accurately determine his captive's status as a former Luna Wolf based solely on his Cthonian accent. Loken's captor mentioned his prior experience fighting alongside the Luna Wolves at both Cardensine and Zaramund, which triggered Loken to experience flashbacks of those moments.
Upon further study by torchlight, Luther recognised Loken, but only vaguely, as he was still unsure of his captive's identity. Luther questioned Loken as to why one Legion would be spying on another, which showed Loken that the regent of Caliban was still woefully ignorant of the broader events of the Horus Heresy that currently raged throughout the galaxy. Though he wished to tell Luther the full truth, Loken felt that Caliban was surrounded by darkness and would eventually turn to the service of the Traitors. Unsatisfied, Luther took his leave from Loken's cell.
The Knight-Errant was then confronted by a small hooded figure in his cell -- a Watcher in the Dark. Through telepathy, the Watcher gave Loken a small fraction of its abilities to sense Luther's feelings. The creature would not offer an explanation as to its presence, and instead freed him from his bondage. He wanted Loken to explain to both Rogal Dorn and the Sigillite what he had witnessed -- that Luther was ignorant of the wider events of the Heresy, and that he was ambitious and felt resentment towards Lion El'Jonson.
This only complicated Loken's mission, as Terra had no clue as to the Lion's own true loyalties. During his escape, Loken was discovered by a mysterious figure who had snuck up on him and held a Power Sword to his throat. Startling the Knight-Errant, the figure said Loken's name. He explained that he was the Lord Cypher, and proceeded to assist Loken in his escape. When they encountered a lone Dark Angels sentry, Cypher ordered the guard to hold, in order for Loken to subdue him. Unfortunately, this was not enough, and Qruze methodically killed his fellow Astartes in cold blood with his Stalker Pattern Bolter.
Enraged over Qruze's callous disregard, Loken chastised the older Knight-Errant for the necessity of such a brutal action, explaining that with this one Dark Angel's death, it might now tip the scales of loyalty for the entire Ist Legion against the Imperium. The veteran warrior dismissed Loken's misgivings, explaining that the sentry was not the first loyal servant of the Imperium he had killed, nor would he be the last.
With the help of Cypher, the two Knights-Errant made good their escape from the dungeon of the fortress-monastery. Even though the pair of Knights-Errant had failed in their original mission, they had perhaps found something greater -- a potential recruit in the form of Cypher. The Dark Angel was aware of the wider events unfolding across the galaxy, but explained that events on Caliban were complex.
Qruze offered his old comrade the opportunity to become one of Malcador's agents, but ultimately, Cypher refused his generous offer, for he would continue to serve in the shadows -- loyal to the Emperor, but unremembered and unknown.
Baal (ca. 008.M31)[]
After the majority of the Blood Angels Space Marine Legion and their Primarch Sanguinius disappeared in the Signus System in 005.M31 and were presumed lost, the Librarian Rubio was sent by Malcador the Sigillite to Baal to meet with Warden Arkad, the acting Regent of Baal.
Arkad and twenty fellow Blood Angels stood guard on their Legion's homeworld, desperate for news of their brothers, but all travel and communication with the Signus System has been effectively blocked by the malignant Ruinstorm that intrrupted all travel and astropathic communication between the two systems. Surprised by the arrival of Rubio, the Knight-Errant had the misfortune of being the bearer of bad tidings: by order of the Regent of Terra, the Blood Angels Legion was hereby ordered to disband and have their Legion's resources divided amongst the remaining Loyalist Legions.
Warden Arkad and his battle-brothers vehemently protested the Sigillite's command, arguing that as long as a single son of Sanguinius yet drew breath, they could indeed rebuild their Legion. But due to serious time constraints, the Loyalists could ill-afford letting such valuable resources fall into the hands of the Traitors.
Rubio sympathised with his cousins' outrage and the pain over the proposed disbanding of the Blood Angels, for he knew what it was like to lose a Legion, having been exiled from his own due to his violation of the Emperor's Decree Absolute when he utilised his psychic powers to save Agentia Primus Nathaniel Garro on Calth. The Knight-Errant went on to explain that a new organisation was being formed in order to counter the dark powers that Horus Lupercal had aligned himself with.
Disregarding the Sigillite's messenger, Warden Arkad and his battle-brothers vowed to undertake a suicidal journey in order to find their missing primarch or carry the fight directly to the Warmaster Horus himself. When Rubio attempted to stop Arkad, the Librarian came close to being slain by the remaining Blood Angels, but was miraculously saved by an unexpected astropathic message received from the Signus System, stating that Sanguinius and the Blood Angels yet lived.
Warden Arkad ordered Rubio to depart Baal, for he would have to return to the Sigillite empty-handed. Satisfied that the Blood Angels had survived, Rubio was only too happy to do so.
Molech (009.M31)[]
Malcador the Sigillite, together with Leman Russ, primarch of the Space Wolves Legion, conspired with Garviel Loken to hatch a most audacious plan -- to send a Knights-Errant squad to infiltrate Horus' flagship, the Vengeful Spirit, and prepare the way for an overwhelming Space Wolves assault, led by the Wolf King himself, in order to kill the Arch-traitor.
Loken was charged by the Sigillite to command this vital mission, and was allowed to select his own squad members. The former Luna Wolf recruited nine of his fellow Knights-Errant including: Tylos Rubio, Macer Varren, Iacton Qruze, Rama Karayan, Ares Voitek, Altan Nohai, Callion Zaven, and Tubal Cayne.
At the behest of Leman Russ, he also sent one of his own sons, Bror Tyrfingr, to become a member of the Sigillite's Knights-Errant. Loken also attempted to recruit his fellow Luna Wolf, Severian, but he refused to join the mission -- one he felt was a doomed prospect. Later, when the Knights-Errant prepared to depart Terra, Severian changed his mind and joined them despite his misgivings. Utilising the technologically advanced stealth vessel Tarnhelm and guided by Tubal Cayne's advanced sensors and strategic planning, the brave squad was able to successfully infiltrate Horus' flagship undetected.
As they moved deeper into the bowels of the massive, Chaos-corrupted "Gloriana"-class Battleship, Bror Tyrfingr left Futharc runes at various points throughout the vessel to guide a future Space Wolves assault. Before long, the Knights-Errant's presence was detected as they encountered various resistance throughout the massive warship.
Some of the Knights-Errant died during these skirmishes, and the remainder of the squad were captured and brought to the Lupercal's Court, and arrayed before the Warmaster himself, who had just returned from his victory at the Battle of Molech and was filled with the power of the four Chaos Gods as their chosen mortal champion. Horus attempted to tempt his gene-son and former Mournival member Loken into rejoining him, and though moved by his gene-father's offer, the stalwart Knight-Errant defied his primarch, which allowed his fellow Knights the opportunity to turn upon their captors.
They initiated a brutal brawl that led to the mortal wounding of Ares Voitek and Proximo Tarchon and the deaths of Grael Noctua, the Daemon Tormageddon's latest host body, and Iacton Qruze. Several more of Loken's squad were slain in the subsequent fighting as the Knights-Errant made good their escape, when the Tarnhelm -- summoned by Loken -- shot out the windows of the flagship's audience chamber, sucking them out into the void.
Varren, Voitek and a rescued Ultramarines survivor from the surface of Molech, Centurion Proximo Tarchon, were put into Sus-an-induced healing comas while Rubio recovered from the ordeal. Both Bror Tyrfingr and Severian convinced their squad leader that the mission's failure was not Loken's fault.
Hunt for the Shards of Magnus[]
Dio Promus, Antaka Cyvaan, Yasu Nagasena and a force of Space Wolves under the command of the Rune Priest Bodvar Bjarki were later tasked by Malcador to recover several psychic shards of Primarch Magnus the Red before the Traitor Thousand Sons could do the same, thus strengthening the portion of Magnus serving the cause of the Traitors.
Promus' force first went to the xenos void station Kamiti Sona which was used as a prison by the Sisters of Silence for Renegade psykers seeking a shard of Magnus, but were confronted by a raid launched on the station by the Thousand Sons. The Remembrancer Lemuel Gaumon was captured by the Knights-Errant, who took him back to Aghoru in search of another shard.
After Promus and the Space Wolves accompanying him were unable to defeat the shard, Menkaura, a Thousand Son also captured at Kamiti Sona, psychically bound the shard into Gaumon who now essentially became a Daemonhost. The next destination for the Knights-Errant was Nikaea where they went in search of another Shard of Magnus. On that world they were again confronted by a Thousand Sons raiding force commanded by First Captain Ahzek Ahriman.
Ahriman successfully extracted the shards of Magnus from Gaumon on Nikaea and returned them to the Planet of the Sorcerers, while the Rune Priest Bjarki who commanded the mission determined that Gaumon was now a "wyrd-wraith" who would be unable to ever again be possessed by Daemons in the future.
The Space Wolves determined that they would take Gaumon back with them to the Sigillite for questioning. At the end of the mission, Bjarki and his Space Wolves slew Dio Promus after discovering he had murdered fellow Loyalists while attempting to find strong warriors for Malcador's unknown initiative that was unfolding on Saturn's moon of Titan.
Founding of the Grey Knights (014.M31)[]
Shortly before the Siege of Terra began, the Knights-Errant were deployed across the Throneworld, busy battling Chaos Cultists and Daemonic manifestations that erupted across Terra as Horus and the Traitor fleet moved ever closer to the Sol System.
At the White Mountain military installation of Terra, the Knights-Errant fought a Chaos Cultist force led by the Nurglish Daemon known as the Lord of Flies while the Word Bearers Dark Apostle Erebus' unwitting mind-slave Tylos Rubio, who had been secretly captured and released by the Word Bearers during the Battle of Calth, attempted to assassinate Malcador. The Loyalists succeeded in defeating the Chaos assault upon the White Mountain, but at the cost of the life of Macer Varren.
After the battle and his defeat of Horus' assassination attempt, Malcador brought nine Knights-Errant identified to possess psychic powers before the Emperor Himself deep beneath the Imperial Palace.
The Emperor revealed their purpose: to carry out a never-ending war against the forces of Chaos and the Warp in order to prevent the future destruction of Humanity at the hands of Chaos. The Emperor made it clear that these chosen Astartes' part in the war against Horus was done, for their true contribution to Mankind was to come in a conflict that would last long after the battles of the Horus Heresy had faded into myth.
After their interview with the Emperor, each of the chosen Knights-Errant was led through a Webway portal beneath the Imperial Palace by Malcador and with the aid of Malcador's Aeldari/Human hybrid clone Ael Wyntor to a grand new fortress-monastery that had been prepared for them on Titan, the largest moon of Saturn. There they would begin the formation of what became the Grey Knights.
The chosen Knights-Errant each received new names, erasing their old identities and loyalties. These surviving Knights-Errant were subsequently dubbed "The Titans", and each became a founding Grand Master of the Grey Knights:
- Revuel Arvida became "Ianius," later remembered as "Janus," the first Supreme Grand Master of the Grey Knights.
- Severian became "Iapto."
- Vardas Ison became "Satre."
- Tylos Rubio became "Koios."
- An unnamed former Astartes of the Dark Angels became "Epimetheus." This was likely the mysterious warrior known only as The Nemean.
- An unnamed former Astartes of the Raven Guard became "Ogen." This was likely Antaka Cyvaan or Balsar Kurthuri.
- An unnamed former Astartes of the Space Wolves became "Yotun." This was likely Fyodor Stromgren.
- An unnamed former Astartes of the Night Lords became "Khyron." This was likely Fel Zharost.
- Garviel Loken was intended to become the Grey Knights Grand Master "Crius," but refused to join the chosen Knights-Errant after he felt that his fate demanded that he confront the Sons of Horus one more time at the Siege of Terra. Freed of all further obligation to serve the interests of Malcador the Sigillite, he joined Nathaniel Garro and Helig Gallor, the two remaining Knights-Errant who were also not chosen to become Titans because of their lack of psychic powers. Together the three prepared to face the forces of Horus once more during the Siege of Terra aboard the Warmaster's flagship, the Vengeful Spirit.
Notable Knights-Errant[]
Twenty original members of the Knights-Errant were recruited directly by Malcador with others being recruited second-hand by other Knights-Errant and agents of the Sigillite. Notable members include the following Astartes.
- Nathaniel Garro (Death Guard) - Former battle-captain of the 7th Great Company of the Death Guard, it was Nathaniel Garro who brought word of the Warmaster Horus' betrayal at Isstvan III to Terra aboard the Eisenstein. He was the first to be recruited as Malcador's Knight-Errant, and was made the Sigillite's Agentia Primus, the leader of the Knights-Errant and Malcador's most important Imperial agent.
- Tylos Rubio (Ultramarines) - A former codicier of the Ultramarines Legion, after the Decrees of Nikaea forbidding the use of psyker abilities, he was reassigned to the Legion's 21st Company, and was later recruited by Nathaniel Garro during the infamous Battle of Calth.
- Macer Varren (World Eaters) (KIA) - A former captain of the 12th Company of the traitorous World Eaters Legion, Macer Varren remained steadfastly loyal to the Emperor, despite his Legion throwing in their lot with Horus. He would later be recruited by Nathaniel Garro into the ranks of the Chosen of Malcador. Varren would serve with the Knights-Errant for most of the Horus Heresy, and was killed during the Battle of the White Mountain on Terra in the days just before the Siege of Terra began. After being mortally wounded, Varren was possessed by the Daemon of Nurgle known as the Lord of Flies. However, he possessed enough remaining willpower to overcome the daemon and destroy himself before he was forced to kill his comrade Garviel Loken.
- Garviel Loken (Sons of Horus) (KIA) - Garviel Loken was the captain of the Sons of Horus (originally Luna Wolves) Legion's 10th Company during the last days of the Great Crusade and up until the Isstvan III Atrocity that initiated the Horus Heresy. He was also a member of the Mournival, Horus' cadre of four senior unofficial advisers and confidants. During the betrayal at Isstvan III, Loken fought on the side of the Loyalists, and eventually faced down his former comrade, First Captain Ezekyle Abaddon in battle. He was gravely wounded and left for dead, and was thought to have died in the Traitors' final orbital bombardment of Isstvan III. Miraculously, he survived the onslaught and was rescued by Nathaniel Garro and Macer Varren many solar months later, later becoming a Knight-Errant. He refused the Sigillite's offer to become one of the founding "Titans" of the Grey Knights and fought at the Siege of Terra. During that great final conflict of the Horus Heresy, Loken teleported aboard the Warmaster Horus' flagship, the Vengeful Spirit, to confront his gene-sire. However, following the death of Horus at the hands of the Emperor, Loken was slain at the hands of Erebus, the First Chaplain of the Word Bearers, who stabbed him in the back with his Anathame knife.
- Iacton Qruze (Sons of Horus) (KIA) - Iacton Qruze, "The Half-Heard," was the captain of the 3rd Company of the Sons of Horus Legion during the Great Crusade and the opening days of the Horus Heresy. Qruze was a very old Space Marine who was a native of Cthonia. During the events of the Isstvan III Atrocity, he escaped alongside two civilians of the Remembrancer order and fled with other Loyalists aboard the Death Guard frigate Eisenstein to bring the news of Horus' betrayal to the Emperor on Terra. He was later recruited by the Sigillite to become a Knight-Errant. He died at the hands of Horus himself during a failed assassination attempt aboard the Warmaster's flagship, the Vengeful Spirit.
- Severian (Sons of Horus) - Severian was originally a Luna Wolves and then Sons of Horus Legionary who was chosen to serve as a part of the Crusader Host upon Terra at the outset of the Great Crusade, serving on the Throneworld for approximately 170 standard years. He was absent for the majority of the Great Crusade before Horus' betrayal at Isstvan III. Due to his affiliation with a Traitor Legion, he was imprisoned in Khangba Marwu with the other Crusader Host Legionaries, but later escaped. He was eventually tracked down by the expert hunter, Yasu Nagasena, who fought the Luna Wolf, and was easily bested. He was captured by agents of Malcador the Sigillite and recruited to become a Knight-Errant. His latent psychic precognitive abilities would be put to use in forming the Grey Knights Chapter at the Heresy's end. As one of the nine chosen warriors of Malcador, he became a founding member of that newly-formed Chapter. He was reunited with his fellow Luna Wolf, Garviel Loken, before assuming his new mantle as Iapto, and would become one of the original Grand Masters of the Grey Knights. At some unknown time later, Abaddon the Despoiler witnessed Iapto's death.
- Tubal Cayne (Iron Warriors) (KIA) - Tubal Cayne was an Iron Warriors Astartes who was chosen to serve as a part of the Crusader Host upon Terra at the outset of the Great Crusade. With Horus' treachery revealed, he was imprisoned in Khangba Marwu with the other Crusader Host Legionaries, but eventually had his sentence commuted by the Sigillite, and was offered a place within the ranks of the Knights-Errant. He was killed aboard the Sons of Horus' flagship, the Vengeful Spirit, during the failed assassination attempt on Horus, after the Knights-Errant infiltrated the vessel following the Battle of Molech.
- Ares Voitek (Iron Hands) -- An Iron Father and member of the stoic Iron Hands Legion, Ares Voitek was recruited by agents of Malcador sometime following the Drop Site Massacre at Isstvan V. He may possibly have been a survivor of that disastrous battle. He was later critically injured aboard the Sons of Horus' flagship Vengeful Spirit during the failed Loyalist attempt to assassinate Horus. He was put into an induced coma to heal from his grievous wounds.
- Bror Tyrfingr (Space Wolves) (KIA) - Bror Tyrfingr was an Astartes of the ferocious Space Wolves Legion and fought during many campaigns of the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy. After Horus' treachery at Isstvan III was revealed, Malcador, Rogal Dorn and Bror's Primarch Leman Russ hatched a plan to infiltrate a Knights-Errant strike force aboard the Warmaster's flagship in order to assassinate him, and hopefully end the Horus Heresy. Bror was ordered by his primarch to become a member of the Sigillite's Knights-Errant. During the subsequent failed attempt, the team was eventually discovered and forced to fight for their lives. In the ensuing conflagration, Bror managed to rip out the throat of Tormageddon, a Daemon that resided within the physical remains of the brain-dead Son of Horus Ger Gerradon. He eventually fled aboard the stealth ship Tarnhelm after it was forced to fire into Lupercal's Court, Horus' self-styled throne room aboard his flagship, which created a distraction and allowed the Knights-Errant to make good their escape. With the Sigililite's agents having failed, Leman Russ mobilised the diminished Space Wolves Legion in his own attempt to storm the Vengeful Spirit and slay Horus. Russ "borrowed" Tyrfingr from the Knights-Errant and led the VIth Legion against the Sons of Horus. Reunited with his former pack, Tyrfingr penetrated deep inside the Arch-traitor's flagship, destroying one of the vessel's magazines before being harassed by Traitor forces all the way back to their extraction point. Still deep in the bowels of the Vengeful Spirit, Tyrfingr and his men were ambushed by a party of Justaerin Terminators led by the Sons of Horus' baleful First Captain Ezekyle Abaddon. His pride wounded by Tyrfingr's first successful escape, Abaddon had chosen the site of his ambush well. With no means of escape, Tyrfingr and his companions died under the fire of the Justaerin's bolters.
- Rama Karayan (Raven Guard) (KIA) - Rama Karayan was a Legionary of the Raven Guard who served during many campaigns of the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy. After the outbreak of the Heresy, he was recruited to become a member of the Sigillite's Knights-Errant. He would later befriend the White Scars Apothecary Altan Nohai, who taught hin Chogorian martial arts. During the failed assassination attempt aboard the Sons of Horus' flagship Vengeful Spirit, Karayan was slain at the hands of Grael Noctua, captain of the Sons of Horus' 25th Company, and a member of Horus' Mournival.
- Altan Nohai (White Scars) (KIA) - Altan Nohai was a former Apothecary of the White Scars Legion during the Great Crusade and the opening days of the Horus Heresy, before later joining the ranks of the Sigillite's Knights-Errant. He befriended the Raven Guard Rama Karayan, and taught him the fighting methods of Chogoris tribesmen. Nohai was later killed aboard the Sons of Horus flagship Vengeful Spirit during the Knights-Errant's failed assassination attempt on the Warmaster Horus.
- Callion Zaven (Emperor's Children) (KIA) - Callion Zaven was a Terran-born Veteran Astartes of the Emperor's Children Legion during the Great Crusade who fought in the earliest Imperial campaigns to reconquer the Sol System. He saw fighting among the moons of Jupiter during the early years of the Great Crusade where he was gravely wounded, before the discovery of his Primarch Fulgrim on the world of Chemos. By the time he got out of the Apothecarion, his Legion had already moved on without him and he soon found himself reluctantly serving as his Legion's emissary in the Crusader Host, and would do so for many solar decades, until Horus' betrayal was revealed at Isstvan III. With Horus' treachery public, he was imprisoned in Khangba Marwu with the other Crusader Host Astartes, but eventually had his sentence commuted by the Sigillite. Zaven was offered a place within the ranks of the Knights-Errant. He was killed aboard the Sons of Horus' flagship, Vengeful Spirit during the failed Loyalist assassination attempt on Horus.
- Vardas Ison (Blood Angels) - Vardas Ison was a former Librarian of the Blood Angels Legion who was later recruited into the ranks of the Knights-Errant. He vehemently hated his old Legion and detested his primarch, Sanguinius, though for unknown reasons. Ison found amusement in irritating his fellow Knights-Errant, Macer Varren, by refusing to answer his inquiries about which Space Marine Legion he originated from, though he had had a ruby set on gold pinions as a keepsake of his abandoned Legion. Ison recruited Fyodor Stromgren, formerly of the Space Wolves Legion, to the Knights-Errant after he had been mortally wounded by the Night Lords. Ison was later dispatched to recover Nathaniel Garro and detain the Imperial Saint Euphrati Keeler. During his sojourn he fought alongside Varren, Garro, Tylos Rubio, and Helig Gallor against Chaos Cultists on Terra. After the battle against the Daemon known as the Lord of Flies and his minions, Ison was among the nine Astartes chosen to become the founding members of the Grey Knights Chapter. He assumed the mantle of "Satre" and became one of the original founding Grand Masters of the newly formed Chapter.
- The Nemean (Dark Angels) - His origins unknown, it was believed that the Nemean was a former officer of the Ist Legion -- the Dark Angels. Unconfirmed rumours circulated that he was a survivor of the Rangdan Xenocides, the apocalyptic conflict that saw the nascent Imperium threatened with destruction, and he had already entered into the legends of the Legiones Astartes long before the Horus Heresy. He was later separated from his Legion and established the Dark Brotherhood, an infamous and feared Blackshield force that sought to carve out their own domain deep within the Eridayn Cataract during the middle years of the Horus Heresy. He garnered a reputation throughout the Pale Stars, and was later recruited by Nathaniel Garro to join the ranks of the Knights-Errant. The Nemean fought during the Siege of Terra and supposedly died while defending the walls of the Imperial Palace. However, some evidence suggests that he may have survived and assumed the mantle of "Epimetheus," one of the founding Grand Masters of the Grey Knights Chapter.
- Helig Gallor (Death Guard) - Helig Gallor was a former Astartes of the Death Guard Legion, known to be grave but strong of character. He faithfully served his Legion during many campaigns of the Great Crusade. During the Horus' betrayal at Isstvan III, he, along with seventy other Loyalist members of the Death Guard, fled with Battle-Captain Nathaniel Garro aboard the frigate Eisenstein, to carry word of the Warmaster's treachery to Terra. He, along with his fellow Death Guard Legionaries who became known as "The Seventy", were later remanded into the custody of the Sisters of Silence within the Somnus Citadel upon Luna, until their fate could be determined by the Regent of Terra. He was then offered the chance to join the ranks of the Knights-Errant. During the Siege of Terra, Gallor served with Garviel Loken's kill-squad as they ambushed the Sons of Horus beneath the Imperial Palace's Saturnine Gate. Continuing to fight alongside Nathaniel Garro throughout the siege, Gallor was able to help the future Imperial Saint Euphrati Keeler escape Marmax Bastion while Garro sacrificed himself holding off his former primarch, the Daemon Prince Mortarion. He was later seen fighting alone during the final defence of the Inner Palace.
- Bajun Kyda (Death Guard) (KIA) - Bajun Kyda, known also as "The Bull of the Seventh," was a former Astartes of the Death Guard's 7th Great Company during the Great Crusade. He would later be a member of "The Seventy," the Loyalist Death Guard Astartes who fled alongside Battle-Captain Garro aboard the frigate Eisenstein during the Isstvan III Atrocity. Remanded into the custody of the Sisters of Silence within the Somnus Citadel upon Luna, Kyda chafed at inaction and thirsted for the rush of battle. He was later offered the chance to join the ranks of the Knights-Errant, but was tragically killed during his first mission upon the world of Proxima Majoris.
- Dravian Klayde (Raven Guard) (KIA) - Dravian Klayde, known as "The Carrion" due to the terrible wounds he received during the Breg-shei Eradication, was a former sergeant of the Raven Guard Legion. Undergoing extensive augmetic repairs, Klayde was selected for training on Mars to become a Techmarine but would never achieve this status, as the very day he and his fellow Space Marines were to take their Covenant, the Schism of Mars erupted. Escaping to Terra, he was invited to join the ranks of the Sigillite's Knights-Errant, and was later sent back to Mars to undertake a dangerous mission -- to destroy Vertex Australis, and wipe out all life on Mars, thereby cutting off the Traitors' supply of arms and equipment. During this valiant attempt he seemingly died fighting his former friend and ally, the now-corrupted Iron Warrior Aulus Scaramanca.
- Revuel Arvida (Thousand Sons) - Revuel Arvida was a sergeant of the Thousand Sons Legion's 4th Fellowship and a member of its Corvidae Cult during the Great Crusade and the opening days of the Horus Heresy. His Fellowship later returned to their homeworld several solar months after the Scouring of Prospero to seek out any survivors. But instead, he and his fellow Astartes were waylaid by a force of World Eaters, and all of them were killed, with the exception of Sergeant Arvida. After an unknown amount of time, he discovered a White Scars force, led by Primarch Jaghatai Khan, upon Prospero. They were there to ascertain what exactly had occurred, as they were still unsure as to which side of the galaxy-wide conflict they should side with. Making himself known, he later fought alongside the White Scars against a strike force of elite Death Guard, led by their Primarch Mortarion. Arvida was taken from the planet's surface to recover from wounds he received in the battle, and would later join the White Scars in their fight against the Traitors. He would also play an instrumental role in helping the Vth Legion circumvent the raging Ruinstorm, finding a safe route back to Terra. After guiding the White Scars fleet to the outskirts of the Sol System, he fell into a coma, succumbing to "the Flesh-Change," a debilitating physical mutation that affected the Thousand Sons' gene-seed. He was later taken by Khalid Hassan, an agent of the Sigillite, who promised the attendant White Scars Stormseers that they could help Arvida, as they had been waiting for his imminent arrival. Arvida was transformed in an arcane ritual conducted by Malcador the Sigillite into an amalgam of Arvida and a psychic fragment of the soul of the Primarch Magnus the Red which had been left on the Throneworld after his ritual incursion into the Imperial extension of the Webway to warn the Emperor of Horus' betrayal. The new hybrid being chose to call himself Ianius, later known as Janus, who would go on to become the first Grey Knights Supreme Grand Master.
- Fel Zharost (Night Lords) - Zharost was the former Chief Librarian of the Night Lords Legion. Within a few standard years of his Legion's reunification with their Primarch Konrad Curze on Nostramo, Zharost was one of the ill-favoured and withering remnants of Terran-born Astartes who still served in the VIIIth Legion. After the Emperor's Decree Absolute during the Council of Nikaea banning the use of psykers in the Space Marine Legions, Zharost sought a private audience with First Captain Jago Sevatarion, who had been left in temporary command of the Legion in their primarch's absence. He demanded that Sevatarion render judgment against their Legion's Librarius -- and himself. Sevatarion's judgement was severe. Zharost was cast out of the Night Lords and would no longer be considered an Astartes of the VIIIth Legion -- his hands were to be stained red. The first captain condemned Zharost to death should they ever meet again. Instead, the Chief Librarian returned to Terra, to the place of his birth, amongst the prison sinks beneath Albia. Eventually he was hunted by an unknown assailant, an Astartes clad in plain grey and unburnished power armour, and captured. Facing his imminent execution, he utilised his psychic powers to show his would-be executioner his past. He also looked into the Knight-Errant's mind and was shocked when he saw the memories of betrayal and oath-breaking. Once he recovered, the Knight-Errant of Malcador informed the former Chief Librarian that he had not come to judge him. For that right belonged to another. Understanding his fate, Zharost willingly left with the Knight-Errant, and soon found new brotherhood among a different fellowship that saw no stigma in his continued use of his psychic powers. Zharost ultimately assumed the mantle of "Khyron," one of the founding Grand Masters of the newly-formed Grey Knights Chapter.
- Umojen (Salamanders) — Umojen was the former Chief Librarian of the Salamanders Legion. He voted in favor of maintaining a Legion Librarius during the Council of Nikaea. Later, he became one of Malcador the Sigillite's Knights-Errant.
- Balsar Kurthuri (Raven Guard) — Kurthuri was the former Chief Librarian of the Raven Guard Legion. Balsar Kurthuri was a Librarian in the Raven Guard Legion during the Great Crusade, until the Edict of Nikaea when he was then forced to become a Legionary. He would later take part in the Horus Heresy and was one of the few members of his Legion to survive the Drop Site Massacre. Afterwards, Balsar was chosen to become his depleted Legion's Chief Librarian when his Primarch Corax reinstated the Raven Guard's Librarius. In the later years of the Horus Heresy, Balsar's standing within the Legion would change once more after a meeting with his fellow Librarian Fara Tek. Tek had just rendezvoused with his Legion where it was gathering in the Rosario System and shared with Balsar a psychic message he had received before he had rejoined the Raven Guard. Though the message was not clear, Balsar gathered from it that the Primarch Leman Russ' life was in danger, but little else. He could not tell Balsar where the message had come from, though he had been able to receive another message from a nearby Space Wolves strike cruiser that was being attacked by the Word Bearers and needed aid. Balsar immediately brought this information to Corax, who dispatched Captain Agapito Nev and the Battle Barge Providence to save the Space Wolves strike cruiser. Agapito succeeded in doing so and brought the strike cruiser's commander, Rathvin, to meet with Corax. The Space Wolf proceeded to inform the Raven Guard's primarch that Leman Russ was indeed in danger, as his Legion had been cornered on the world of Yarant Three by Horus' forces, which heavily outnumbered them. Rathvin would leave shortly afterwards, to join his his Legion in battle, and Corax quickly gathered his commanders and informed them the Raven Guard were going to Yarant Three to aid the Space Wolves. Balsar was shocked when his primarch informed him that he would not be joining the rest of his Legion and that he had also been stripped of his title of Chief Librarian. Corax had once again disbanded the Raven Guard's Librarius. For reasons unknown to Balsar, Corax had grown deeply mistrustful of psykers and wanted his former Librarians to be immediately separated from his Legion and sent back to Terra. Though Balsar was eventually able to convince his primarch to let his fellow psykers remain with the Legion as long as they did not use their powers, the former Chief Librarian's fate was sealed. Corax commanded him to depart for Terra at once and told Balsar that when he arrived there, he was to present himself to Malcador the Sigillite, who would decide what would become of him. When Kurthuri arrived in the Sol System accompanied by Captain Noriz and his Imperial Fists and the Legio Custodes Arcatus and his Custodians, the Custodian Ludivicus gave the order to hunt the Librarian down. Arcatus immediately obeyed, attacking Kurthuri on the bridge, but Noriz attempted to help him escape the ship. Cornered by Arcatus, Noriz was killed by the Custodian, but Kurthuri was spared when he backed down from using his psychic powers to avenge the Imperial Fists captain's death. Kurthuri was brought before Malcador the Sigillite and presented with a suit of grey power armour by Umojen, becoming one of the Knights-Errant, for his restraint had shown that he would be loyal to the Emperor's commands even when faced with death. Later, either Antaka Cyvaan or Kurthuri may have become the one of the first Grey Knights Grand Masters known as "Ogen."
- Varskjold - Varskjold was a member of the Knights-Errant from an unknown Space Marine Legion who was aboard the Imperial Fists starship Xanthus when it was brought down on the world of Algonquis. The ship had been bound for the Sol System, and was able to send an astropathic message encoded with non-Legion ciphers before it crashed. After the ship was boarded by the Death Guard Chaplain Morgax Murnau and the Graven, Varskjold ordered the weapon batteries overloaded, causing the ship to sink into the toxic sludge of the planet's surface.
- Dio Promus (Ultramarines) (KIA) - Promus was the former Chief Librarian of the Ultramarines. He voted in favor of maintaining a Legion Librarius during the Council of Nikaea. He later was recruited into the Knights-Errant. As a member of the Knights-Errant, Promus was tasked by Malcador the Sigillite to select Astartes candidates for the Titan Project, those who would eventually become Grey Knights, and was expected to kill those who were seen as too mentally weak to face the burdens of becoming those psychic Space Marines. Promus went on to lead a mission at the orders of Malcador to recover the psychic Shards of Magnus. Accompanied by Yasu Nagasena and Space Wolves led by Bodvar Bjarki, their mission brought them to the xenos void station psyker prison of Kamiti Sona, the world of Aghoru, and finally Nikaea itself where they fought against the Thousand Sons cabal commanded by Ahriman. On Nikaea, Promus was struck down trying to fight a shard of Magnus, blasted by Magnus's power, but Yasu Nagasena stepped in to protect him from a swarm of Daemons. After the shards of Magnus merged and left with Ahriman for the Planet of the Sorcerers, Promus was confronted by Bjarki who learned of his past murders of Loyalist Astartes from the Daemon Fatewoven. Promus admitted the Daemon's claims were true to Bjarki but refused to explain the secrets he was bound to keep by the Sigillite, including why the killings had been necessary. Unable to forgive Promus' actions, on the orders of Bjarki, Svafnir Rackwulf ended the Knight-Errant's life in response. Dio Promus' friend Lemuel Gaumon then took Promus' name as his own.
- Fyodor Stromgren (Space Wolves) - Fyodor Stromgren was a member of the Space Wolves during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy. Originally assigned by his Legion to watch over the Night Lords Primarch Konrad Curze at the start of the Horus Heresy, Curze had Fyodor and his packmates captured and mutilated. All save Fyodor died, and the Night Haunter sent the grievously wounded Space Marine back to Terra to serve as a message to other Loyalists. However Fyodor's body was recovered by the Knights-Errant, and Malcador the Sigillite demanded he be revived by all means available save interment within a Dreadnought sarcophagus. It is likely he thereafter joined the Knights-Errant. Stromgren may have became the founding Grey Knights Grand Master Yotun.
- Antaka Cyvaan (Raven Guard) - Cyvaan was a Librarian of the Raven Guard during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy. He was later inducted into the Knights-Errant and accompanied Dio Promus and Yasu Nagasena to Nikaea during the Knights-Errant's hunt for the Shards of Magnus. It is likely that either he or Balsar Kurthuri became the founding Grey Knights Grand Master Ogen.
Wargear[]
- Paragon Bolter - The Knights-Errant were outfitted with the finest crafted panoply of arms and armour that the Sigillite's household could procure, the plain grey heraldry belying the peerless quality of the underlying workmanship.
Optional Wargear[]
A Knight-Errant may also take one of the following:
- Nuncio-Vox
A Knight-Errant may replace his Power Weapon with one of the following:
- Master-Crafted Power Fist
- A single Master-Crafted Lightning Claw
A Knight-Errant may replace his Paragon Bolter with one of the following:
A Knight-Errant may replace his master-crafted Bolt Pistol with one of the following:
Knights-Errant Appearance[]
Knights-Errant Colours[]
Having foresworn their oaths to their Space Marine Legions of origin, the Knights-Errant wore artificer-wrought battle plate scoured to unpainted ceramite gunmetal grey. They bore no sigil other than that of Malcador.
Despite renouncing their former ties, many Knights-Errant retained some token of their former identity, varying from a simple keepsake of a battle of old to a favoured weapon too potent to set aside.
In the aftermath of the Schism of Mars, during which the Imperial Fists were finally able to extricate stockpiles of the new Mark VI Corvus Pattern Power Armour from the Mechanicum's forge cities on Mars, the Knights-Errant were equipped with the very finest examples of this class of armour.
They also received access to whatever other master-crafted weapons and wargear they required to prosecute the Sigillite's far-reaching Silent War.
Knights-Errant Iconography[]
Members of the Knights-Errant were marked with the personal sigil of Malcador the Sigillite -- a stylised letter "I" with three horizontal lines through its centre.
This icon would later become infamous across the galaxy after the Horus Heresy as the Inquisitorial Seal of the Inquisition.
Videos[]
See Also[]
Sources[]
- The Horus Heresy - Book Six: Retribution (Forge World Series) by Alan Bligh, pp. 16-17, 19, 30, 84, 88-91, 208-213
- Black Library Weekender - Volume Two, "Lost Sons," by James Swallow
- The Buried Dagger (Novel) by James Swallow
- The Flight of the Eisenstein (Novel) by James Swallow
- The Path of Heaven (Novel) by Chris Wraight, Epilogue
- Vengeful Spirit (Novel) by Graham McNeill
- Wolfbane (Novel) by Guy Haley
- Cybernetica (Novella) by Rob Sanders
- Child of the Night (Short Story) by John French
- Ghosts Speak Not (Short Story) by James Swallow
- Patience (Short Story) by James Swallow
- Burden of Duty (Audio Book) by James Swallow
- Garro: Legion of One (Audio Book) by James Swallow
- Garro: Oath of Moment (Audio Book) by James Swallow
- Garro: Sword of Truth (Audio Book) by James Swallow
- Grey Angel (Audio Book) by James Swallow
- The Watcher (Audio Drama) by C.Z. Dunn
- A Thousand Sons (Novel) by Graham McNeill, Ch. 20
- The Crimson King (Novel) by Graham McNeill
- The Grey Raven (Short Story) by Gav Thorpe
- Distant Echoes of Old Night (Short Story) by Rob Sanders
- Corax (Anthology) by Gav Thorpe, "Weregeld" (Novella), Chs. 2-3
- The Chapter's Due (Novel) by Graham McNeill, Ch. 6
- Black Library Blog: The High Lords of Terra Convene (Link Defunct)
- Forge World - Nathaniel Garro, Hand of the Sigillite
- Forge World - Knight-Errant Tylos Rubio
- Forge World - The Knights-Errant