Primarch of the Amulets

Prologue Cast:

Progo Barnacian - An Imperial Citizen from Shanorus Sulca. Thirty years prior was abducted by Morax to assist in a deep strike mission to Etargolia's World along with a company of mercenary Terminators. Along with Tyrennian Invictrad and his company, the group encountered Aeldari, hostile Xenos, and an ork waaagh! before reaching Etargolia's World where they succeeded in penetrating a long-lost fortress, awakening an alien demigod, and assisting in it's slaughter. The death of the beast precipitated the Battle of Etargolia's World, where five hosts battled over the remains of the beast's lair, and who would be master of the planet. Though taking heavy losses, the mercenary marines and residents of the planet succeeded and were victorious. Progo was returned home with a trove of wealth that allowed him to settle in considerable comfort. Unknown to him, one piece, a strikingly nice amulet, was invested with dread chaos power.

Morax Graymantle - A former Gray Knight. Aged out of the legion, and now acts as an itinerant wise man. Known for his long staff, and low-key but potent psyker abilities. Can still swing staff and sword, but no longer possesses power armor. Assisted Tyrennian Invictrad's personal mission to retake the lost fortress on Etargolia's World and restore his chapter's legacy.

Main Story Cast:

Morax Graymantle - returns to lead the Mourneval of the Amulet

Stillego Barnacian - scion of the new House Barnacian, and adopted heir of Progo Barnacian. He is a middle-aged Imperial Adept who has grown up on Shanorus Sulca and remains in love with that garden world. He has come into possession of the Chaos Amulet. He feels a deep fondness for the relic, and in the past it has given him strange insight into the flow of events, allowing him to use the power of Chaos to his minor advantage. He has been tasked to carry the Amulet to Dunnod Arcorox. This happens to be an irradiated forge world inside the Maelstrom/Chaos space, where the amulet was first made, thousands of years ago.

Caleb Calasaar - body servant and bannerman to Stillego Barnacian. A young and doughty citizen who loathed to leave his homeworld, but steadfastly refuses to abandon his duty to Stillego.

Augastes 'Auggie' Kjar - citizen of Shanorus Sulca, a drug enthusiast, and general problem creator.

Boyle 'Boyo' Amaediel - citizen of Shanous Sulca, gourmand, and wealth enthusiast.

Marelles Hengist - loyal son of Etargolia's World, and the son of one of the Terminators who participated in the raid against the alien demigod, and survived the Battle of Etargolia's World. Despite his relative youth and lack of experience, he is a competent close-quarters combatant.

Yhunadryoc Yriel - Aeldari veteran of the Battle of Etargolia's World, and a representative of the Etargolian Craftworld. Only cares about the destruction of the Chaos Amulet. Imperial citizens are beneath his notice, and only a few are worthy of speaking to him. He barely acknowledges the amulet-bearer, and only then because the diminutive human is literally holding a world destroying weapon of Chaos.

Balliphict Yor-Gwex - Emissary from the Forge world Hecklahast II, Balliphict is an Adeptus Mechanicum noble. He has come to represent the forge world and its interest in opposing the Maelstrom. His world is not far from Dunnod Arcorox, and its garrison is famed for regularly throwing back Chaos incursions, though in the last few centuries, their lines have been pushed back, and the sector has lost a number of worlds. Balliphict doesn't want the amulet destroyed, he wants to take it back the White Citadel on Hecklehast where its power can be divined and replicated to make weapons for the forge world, and the Imperium. His brother, Faelain Yor-Gwex is an Imperial Knight and maintains the defensive lines at the behest of his father, the Steward of Hecklahast.

Arkhan 'Stalker' Carnedorn - Believed to be an errant space marine (minus armor and blade), Stalker is known for traveling the back road and back worlds of the sector and is a hunter/surveyor/occasional assassin/slayer of horrors unknown. A long friend of Morax, and the Aeldari. Is known to be the paramour of Irerair Tial, daughter of the Lord of Craftworld Bristeglais. What is not common knowledge is that Carnedorn is a former Custodes, serves the spirit of the Emperor in the sector, and has the jurisdiction to be the regional governor of all the planets in the sector, a King for lack of a better term. The line of Carnedorn was once just that, kings of the local sector when it was a pocket realm not associated with the Imperium.

The Stewardship of the Amulet, ACT I

Stillego and company depart from Shanorus Sulca in the dead of night to avoid attention, at the behest of Morax who promises to find them along their way, and for them to head galactic east. After several weeks and a number of frightening jumps through warp space, the foursome arrived on Banoftach VII. Having escaped a chance encounter on a Necron tomb world, and pursuit by nine legions of Night Lords. There, they encountered Stalker, and he guided them to safety and off-world as the Night Lords attacked and inflicted severe damage on the port hive where they were only hours before staying.

They pause at the Adon Amnodon beacon. The station has long been abandoned, but for centuries functioned as a navigational aid, allowing ships to plot warp jumps through the region. They find signs of a previous battle, and before long, they are beset by the Night Lords again. Carnedon demonstrates his prowess and slaughters many of the Night Lords, and gives the band enough room and time to escape. Stillego has been wounded, so time is dear as the fleeing Thunderhawk gunship mades its best speed away from the beacon. It seems that all is lost, but there is a flash of silent light and the gunship is swallowed by a warp-way portal, drawing the small craft into the arms of Craftworld Bristeglais.

Stillego is healed by the Aeldari doctors, and the matter is brought to hand. Elder Tial has convened a council to determine the fate of the sector. The Mechanicum, the Imperium, the Craftworld, and the Rangers of the Sector send emissaries, and the matter of the Amulet is brought to bear. Morax had appeared to have been long delayed.

The Stewardship of the Amulet, ACT II, the Council

Morax's tale - in years past, the Alabask Council was formed to better understand the Warp, and its denizens, in the sector. This council was made at the behest of the Regent of Terra and was composed of elite Gray Knights, Inquisitors, and other people of considerable power and influence. Morax was among the chosen. The leader of the Alabask, the White Templar Soldernev Dythe-Gladias, cautioned patience, investing in seeking out the lore of Chaos, and recovering relics. Morax discovered that Soldernev had long since been corrupted by Chaos, and was actively using Chaos powers to enhance his already impressive psychic powers. It was only by hope and happenstance that Morax was able to escape Raptorus Proxima, the monastery warship of the order. The ship had fallen to Chaos, Soldernev had embraced said forces of darkness, and was busy raising a terrible host of World Eater chaos space marines, and chaos-sworn human slave conscripts.

Belliphict's tale - Dunnod Arcorox sends forth plumes of fire. The star burns furiously, and the world is a wrack of lava and ash. The hosts of the Chaos have gathered in ever-increasing numbers. These forces are already striking outwards, pushing against border garrisons, and pressing fleet defenses. Ships have been lost, tertiary worlds and moons have fallen, and none come to the aid of Hecklahast. The Amulet is needed so that the armies of the forge world can learn their foe's power and master it. Entire new weapons could be devised from its secrets. What fantastic engines could it inspire, what dread ordinatus could it power? But the task of destroying the Amulet is folly, not with a thousand ships, or ten thousand space marines, or a million Imperial Guard could that part of the Maelstrom be breached.

Marelles tale - Etargolia's World has been visited by emissaries from the Maelstrom. They represented Ygakhar Kon, Lord of the Maelstrom, Master of Dunnod Arcorox, and they demanded surrender, tithe, and tribute, or face invasion. The same message was delivered across the borders of the Maelstrom, and with the resurgence of the coronal storms of Dunnod Arcorox's star turning the night to day across a hundred worlds, such was his might. Other members of the council confirm this, visits from black-clad emissaries.

Stillego's tale - The Imperial Adept, a common man with no great martial power or protection, offers to take the Amulet to Dunnon Arcorox, and cast it into the flames so that the Maelstrom might be diminished, or even closed. Elder Tial supports this, and the Mourneval of the Amulet is founded, with the nine members matching the Night Lords who have been sent into the sector to hunt them, a nine to match the nine.

The Stewardship of the Amulet, ACT III

Leaving Craftworld Bristeglais, the Mourneval travel a modest distance through the web-way before being disgorged far from the craft world. Bereft of an actual starship, the Mourneval is bound to the same Thunderhawk, and soon discovers the limitation of its food storage and long-term accommodation deficit. They burn for the nearest world, Borandrost I. The world is mountainous, wracked with violent storms, and their attempt to reach the Imperial outpost is thwarted. The outpost is long abandoned, and damaged so much that they are forced to take what supplies they can and retreat back to the Thunderhawk.

Marelles mentions that the Admonisher of the Tempest is not far from their location, and that a company of his brothers went years before to start the long process of recovering the great battle barge and returning it to active service. Perhaps they had made great progress, and there would be aid and succor beyond their imagining. Morax argues against this, but the vote falls to the Amulet Bearer, and Stillego votes for flying to the battle barge. There is nothing but ice and ruin awaiting them on Borandrost, and if they don't move forward, the Maelstrom and the forces of Chaos will strike before they can return to Bristeglais or any other friendly Imperial world.

The Admonisher of the Tempest is wrecked, and in relatively short order Marelles and the others discover that the ship is overrun by smoke-skinned orks. There is a running battle through the long hull of the ship. The Thunderhawk is destroyed, and Morax is slain in a fight with a full-fledged Chaos demon prince. The survivors flee to the remaining escape pods on the Admonisher and blast away into the night. Seemingly defeated, the Mourneval drift through the darkness while swarms of ork fighters randomly and haphazardly launch after them.

The Stewardship of the Amulet, ACT IV

The fights are swept away in a blaze of light, and the escape pods tumble into another web-way portal. A short time later they are extracted from the pods, now in the custody of the Craftworld Oircrann. The message had come of their potential coming, and the rangers of the Aeldari had been seeking them and their ship. Escape pods are not a Thunderhawk, and there were nine, not eight. The Lady Cailleacharach desired to speak with Morax, for he had many things to answer for.

Sensing the power and importance of the duty of the Mourneval, the Lady Cailleacharach granted them gifts and boons. The surviving eight were equipped with new protective gear, their weapons repaired, and the services of three Shooting Star sloops. These would have the range and power to carry them nigh the gates of Dunnod Arcorox, but beyond that, they would need to find their own way.

Shortly after leaving Oircrann, the Mourneval is broken.  The three ships land on an uncharted planet to resupply their air and water stores and are set upon by World Eater forces. Stillego and Caleb flee, using the power of the Amulet to make a clear path back to one of the Shooting Stars. The ship blasts off into space, and then into a wild warp jump. Auggie and Boyo are abducted by the World Eaters, and are planned to be returned to Raptorus Proxima. Belliphict is slain in the process of defending Stillego and Caleb's escape, but not before trying to steal the Amulet. Carnadorn, Yhunadryoc, and Marelles decide to take the surviving Shooting Star and pursue the World Eaters in a hope of rescuing the two Imperial citizens.

If the enemy knows we pursue the two idiots, they might think they are the ones who hold the amulet, and the way will be made clear for Stillego and Caleb. Morax trusted them, and I think we ought to do the same.