Changes: Kyrl Grimblood

Revision as of 16:29, 17 November 2012

Wolf Lord Kyrl Grimblood leads the Space Wolves against the heretic forces of Apostate Cardinal Bucharis

Kyrl Grimblood was a mighty Wolf Lord of the Space Wolves Space Marine Chapter whose deeds in the 36th Millennium during the infamous Plague of Unbelief saved the Chapter's homeworld of Fenris in its time of ultimate peril during the Second Battle of The Fang.

History

Kyrl Grimblood had come to command a Great Company at a time when the Imperium of Man was weak and all hope was drained from the great mass of humanity. For it seemed that the Emperor had forsaken Mankind, for no one could know that He was fighting his most deadly battle of all within the Warp, or that the very existence of humanity hung by a thread. During the long, dark Age of Apostasy of the 36th Millennium, several decades after the death of the infamous High Lord Goge Vandire, many false prophets appeared throughout this anarchic age; some little more than madmen leading rebel bands, others spiritual demagogues who commanded whole worlds and armies. The most powerful of these was the Apostate Cardinal of Gathalamor, Bucharis, whose heresies reached such proportions they became known as the Plague of Unbelief.

Gathalamor was not a rich diocese but Bucharis, driven by jealousy of his peers' achievements, vowed to build one of the largest temples to the Emperor's glory on his Cardinal World. After brutally enslaving the population of Gathalamor, Bucharis still needed more men and resources. Using an army of thugs and cut-throats, he conquered the nearby world of Rhanda. With access to the richer mines of that world, Bucharis' wealth grew. It was also here, in the Rhanda System, that Bucharis joined forces with the Renegade Imperial Navy Admiral Sehalla and Colonel Gasto of the 25th Rigellian Imperial Guard regiment. With these forces at his disposal, Bucharis was able to carve out a small empire to the galactic west of Terra and within the next seven standard years fifty star systems had fallen under his control.

Isolated from Terra by a great concentration of Warp Storms, Bucharis preached that Terra had fallen, and set about establishing himself as the head of the Ecclesiarchy. Having no contact with the Imperium, the people of the region had no way of knowing the truth, and soon the armies of Bucharis were advancing on nearby systems, imposing his cruel regime on every world they encountered. Bucharis preached a particular strain of the Imperial Creed, which held that salvation was only to be found through personal strength and the casting out of the weak. Only through advancing his own interests at the expense of all others could a man attain divinity, Bucharis preached, a doctrine that ran counter to the Imperial Creed's assertion that only through sacrifice for the good of humanity would deliverance be granted.

Armies fought for him, sick and depraved individuals gathered underneath his dark banners, xenos flocked to his court and the Chaos Gods doubtless worked their evil under his protection. His armies of fanatical devotees marched across the galaxy, conquering all before them, subjugating one world after another and growing stronger with every fresh conquest. In a single bold sweep the forces of Bucharis lept from the distant galactic east to the very heart of the Imperium. The armies of Bucharis continued to conquer world after world, and only when his conquests infringed upon the demesnes of the Space Wolves Chapter of the Adeptus Astartes did events turn against him. For three years the fanatical armies of Bucharis pounded upon the gates of the Space Wolves fortress-monastery, The Fang, on their homeworld of Fenris. Attack after attack, bombardment after bombardment fell against the walls and gates of The Fang and yet the citadel remained unbreached. Bucharis drew in more and more soldiers, until even his forces on distant Gathalamor were at a quarter of their normal strength. Believing his demesnes secure, he mustered his armies for one last assault to sweep all resistance before him. Millions died as the native Fenrisians fought a protracted guerrilla war against the invaders. Though they tried many times to penetrate the attackers' lines, the Space Wolves were unable to do anything to break the siege.

Fate intervened once more, but this time to deal a cruel blow to Bucharis' plans, for the salvation of Fenris had come in the form of the Wolf Lord Kyrl Grimblood. Grimblood's Great Company had departed from Fenris five Terran years before, on a mission into the Eye of Terror. Now he had returned just in time, as the besieging forces gathered for the final attack. Out beyond the furthest planet in the system, reality tore itself apart as a Space Wolves war fleet emerged from the Warp. As Bucharis' own vessels investigated they were confronted by an armada of Space Wolves Battle Barges, returning to their home planet. The Space Wolves lost no time in attacking, smashing nearly half of Bucharis' fleet in their first strike. Caught between the newcomers and the attack of the remaining Space Wolves' vessels from the centre of the system, Admiral Sehalla ordered a withdrawal. Wasting no time in pursuit, the Space Wolves powered towards Fenris.

The counter-attack of Kyrl Grimblood's Great Company smashed into the enemy's flanks, killing tens of thousands of Traitor Guardsmen and scattering thousands of their number into the forbidding forests of the continent of Asaheim during the first week. Driven by hunger, ravenous packs of Fenrisian Wolves fell upon the fleeing Heretics and consumed them. The besieged Space Wolves finally broke out, to seal the fate of the Traitors and the battle was won. Of those few that escaped the wrath of the enraged Space Wolves, none survived the hardships of Asaheim. The Apostate Cardinal managed to escape on a shuttle to link up with Admiral Sehalla, who dropped back out of Warp to briefly rendezvous with his fellow conqueror. Leaving Fenris to the Space Wolves, Bucharis pulled back his northern forces and consolidated his hold on the rest of his demesne. Grimblood had saved not only Fenris but possibly Terra itself. From that point on, star system after star system defied Bucharis, the faithful rising up to resist his forces by whatever means possible, even when they were slaughtered in the attempt. It was not yet the end of Bucharis, whose armies were as numerous as the stars, but it represented the turning point in the war against the Apostate Cardinal. The victory of Kyrl Grimblood was heralded as the rebirth of a unified and powerful Imperium.

Sources

Codex: Sisters of Battle (2nd Edition), pp. 39-40
Codex: Space Wolves (2nd Edition), p. 71
Deathwatch: Blood of Martyrs (RPG), p. 24

@@ Line 2: / Line 2: @@
 '''Kyrl Grimblood''' was a mighty [[Wolf Lord]] of the [[Space Wolves]] [[Space Marine]] [[Chapter]] whose deeds in the 36th Millennium during the infamous [[Plague of Unbelief]] saved the Chapter's homeworld of [[Fenris]] in its time of ultimate peril during the Second Battle of The Fang.
 ==History==
-Kyrl Grimblood had come to command a Great Company at a time when the [[Imperium of Man]] was weak and all hope was drained form the great mass of humanity. For it seemed that the Emperor had forsaken [[Mankind]], for no one could know that He was fighting his most deadly battle of all within the [[Warp]], or that the very existence of humanity hung by a thread. During the long, dark [[Age of Apostasy]] of the 36th Millennium, several decades after the death of the infamous High Lord [[Goge Vandire]], many false prophets appeared throughout this anarchic age; some little more than madmen leading rebel bands, others spiritual demagogues who commanded whole worlds and armies. The most powerful of these was the Apostate Cardinal of Gathalamor, Bucharis, whose heresies reached such proportions they became known as the Plague of Unbelief.
+Kyrl Grimblood had come to command a Great Company at a time when the [[Imperium of Man]] was weak and all hope was drained from the great mass of humanity. For it seemed that the Emperor had forsaken [[Mankind]], for no one could know that He was fighting his most deadly battle of all within the [[Warp]], or that the very existence of humanity hung by a thread. During the long, dark [[Age of Apostasy]] of the 36th Millennium, several decades after the death of the infamous High Lord [[Goge Vandire]], many false prophets appeared throughout this anarchic age; some little more than madmen leading rebel bands, others spiritual demagogues who commanded whole worlds and armies. The most powerful of these was the Apostate Cardinal of Gathalamor, Bucharis, whose heresies reached such proportions they became known as the Plague of Unbelief.
 Gathalamor was not a rich diocese but Bucharis, driven by jealousy of his peers' achievements, vowed to build one of the largest temples to the Emperor's glory on his [[Cardinal World]]. After brutally enslaving the population of Gathalamor, Bucharis still needed more men and resources. Using an army of thugs and cut-throats, he conquered the nearby world of Rhanda. With access to the richer mines of that world, Bucharis' wealth grew. It was also here, in the Rhanda System, that Bucharis joined forces with the Renegade [[Imperial Navy]] Admiral Sehalla and Colonel Gasto of the 25th Rigellian [[Imperial Guard]] regiment. With these forces at his disposal, Bucharis was able to carve out a small empire to the galactic west of [[Terra]] and within the next seven standard years fifty star systems had fallen under his control.