Night Lords Legion Badge
Vandred Anrathi, "The Exalted", was a former sergeant of the Night Lords Traitor Legion, commanding the 1st Claw (Squad) of the 10th Company up until the Siege of Terra in 014.M31.
By the time of the late 41st Millennium, Anrathi had allowed himself to be possessed by a Daemon and he had mutated into a Possessed Chaos Space Marine dedicated to the service of the Chaos God Tzeentch.
The Daemon's influence twisted his physical form until he only resembled a shadow of his former self.
History[]
Beginning as a sergeant of the Night Lords Legion, Vandred Anrathi commanded the 1st Claw up until the Traitor assault on the Imperial Palace during the Siege of Terra. Following Captain Malcharion's entombment within a Chaos Dreadnought, Vandred succeeded him as the commander of the Night Lords' 10th Company; under his leadership, the company degenerated into a Chaos Space Marine warband that survived by piracy.
Anrathi thus disregarded the vision of the Night Lords' Primarch Konrad Curze, which proved to be a major point of contention with Talos. Allying himself with Abaddon the Despoiler, he allowed himself to be possessed by a Daemon.
Before accepting the Daemon which would come to dominate him, Vandred was an honored warrior, but his true forte was void combat. A shadow of his former self, it soon became apparent that "The Exalted" was the title of the Daemon which possessed him, and it used his memories and knowledge to further its pursuit of power.
After his change into "The Exalted," he became even more focussed on void combat. He was a true master of it, understanding all the nuances of his ship's speed, mass, maneuverability and weaponry, and therefore willing to throw his vessel, the Covenant of Blood, into seemingly suicidal maneuvers.
Allying himself with Abaddon during the Crythe campaign, The Exalted eventually grew tired of Abbadon's behaviour and his use of the 10th Company as fodder for the Despoiler's schemes. Eventually First Claw was betrayed upon the Industrial World of Crythe by Abaddon's Black Legion.
Talos decided that The Exalted was no longer fit to command. Vandred's disgust towards Abaddon and the Black Legion helped him to temporarily overcome the Daemon within him and reassert his personality.
Refusing to allow his warriors to fall to the whims of Abaddon, Vandred rescued his forces on Crythe and escaped the vengeful Blood Angels Chapter.
When Vandred had his ship dock at Hell's Iris in order to repair and refit the battle-damaged vessel, First Claw sent ambassadors from their warband to meet with the station's commanding Chaos Lord, Huron Blackheart.
Blackheart agreed to have the Night Lords' vessel repaired on the condition that The Exalted's warband would owe him a debt to be paid by accompanying the lord of the Red Corsairs on a military campaign on the Imperial world of Vilamus, serving as the Red Corsairs' vanguard force.
Vandred agreed, but for motives of his own, as the Night Lords recognised that one of the Red Corsairs' warships was the ancient vessel Echo of Damnation, the sister-ship to their own vessel, the Covenant. The Exalted plotted and succeeded in stealing the former Night Lords vessel back from the Red Corsairs right after the Fall of Vilamus.
The Red Corsairs immediately pursued the stolen warship, their fleet striking out after the Night Lords in overwhelming numbers. Vandred, in his prison of a body, immediately recognized that the fight was unwinnable for the Covenant, but that the Covenant's sacrifice would allow Talos Valcoran to escape with the Echo of Damnation.
With a surge of willpower, Vandred took control of his body again, and commanded the Covenant in a fleet action that destroyed a half-dozen or so vessels of the Red Corsair fleet with a daring series of suicide maneuvers.
Right before the Red Corsairs were about to make the kill, Vandred completely relinquished control, letting The Exalted's furious struggles burn Vandred away for good--intentionally so, because it meant The Exalted, shortly thereafter, experienced the death-pain of its body alone and was banished back to the Warp.
Sources[]
- Soul Hunter (Novel) by Aaron Dembski-Bowden
- Blood Reaver (Novel) by Aaron Dembski-Bowden
- Void Stalker (Novel) by Aaron Dembski-Bowden