Deathwatch - Know No Fear OEF.pdf - Deathwatch - Wladerson

A HISTORY OF THE

JERICHO REACH

A Legacy of War

‘We are the Imperium; we are a slave to our past. Our future is bound to things that are lost to memory and legend. This is our strength, our

curse and our destiny. Ask me not of the future; ask me instead what fate is written in the deeds of the dead.’

–Yoren Kipraus, Cardinal of Verronus, martyred 245.M36

T his document is a brief timeline of selected events pertaining to the history of the Jericho Reach, the wider events that

T H E P R E -H I S T O R Y O F T H E J E R I C H O R E A C H

[The Following data is culled from limited available sources.]

Unknown Circa M30 The Great Crusade

The Volume of Space later designated as the Jericho Reach is conquered during the Emperor’s Great Crusade to unify the galaxy

as a realm of Mankind by ﬂ eet forces primarily under the auspices of the Ultramarines and Night Lords Space Marine Legions.

The area of the reach is sparsely populated by pre-Imperial Humanity, but bears many life-sustaining and resource-rich worlds,

and as such, is quickly marked as an area for Imperial colonisation and expansion. Numerous minor xenos races are exterminated

in an extremely bloody campaign to bring the Reach under Imperial control, and 132 worlds are ascribed to have been brought

under Compliance. Such evidence that remains indicates that the most serious opposition to the Crusade here was encountered

in purging an entrenched Ork pocket-empire in the Reach’s Rimward portion, and most particularly in destroying the remnants

of a highly technologically advanced, likely very ancient, and clearly non-humanoid xeno-form known in several records as the

‘Ghanathaar’ who dominated the Reach’s border with the Galactic Eastern Fringe.* This later conﬂ ict destroys the capacity of

numerous worlds in this portion of the Reach to sustain life, a factor that will shape the future Jericho Sector.

*The Chapel of Ages on Macragge, Chapter World of the Ultramarines, contains among its thousand shrines a Charantracite relief panel

graven with the names of two thousand and thirty-three fallen Battle-Brothers who perished in the War against the ‘Ghan’at Hark’ which is

believed to pertain to this mighty conﬂ ict, but no known other records are extant.

The se record s have ha d a num ber of im portant entries purged under my sterious circum stances.

must presu me it i s Herro d... wha t kind of game is he pl aying?

–Q uist

have shaped it and those of the Deathwatch, whose tireless vigils have held sway there. Amidst upheaval and invasion, the

Deathwatch have remained. Amidst crumbling foundations of the Imperium’s might and the return of ancient foes, the

Deathwatch have remained. Amidst the conquests of the Achilus Crusade and the ravages of Hive Fleet Dagon, the Deathwatch

have remained.

So me of t he ciph ers conta in codes unique to an I nquisi tor Lord many t hought dead. I

M31

T H E H O R U S H E R E S Y

Through the foul machinations of Chaos and the sorrowful treachery of the Warmaster Horus, the Imperium is brought to the

brink of annihilation by a great civil war that sees the realm of Humanity shattered asunder and fully half of the Space Marine

Legions turn against their Emperor. Although Horus and his traitors are defeated in the Siege of Terra, the Emperor is grievously

wounded and must ascend the Golden Throne and a time of great darkness and bloodshed ensues, lasting nearly a millennium

before a semblance of order is restored throughout the Imperium. As part of this, those Space Marine Legions who remained

loyal are broken up into smaller Chapters so that no such great rebellion can ever again be conceived.

Circa Early M32

Foundation: After an interregnum lasting over twelve-hundred years and often riven with bloodshed, the Imperium’s hold over

the Jericho Reach is ﬁ nally fully cemented, and it is re-designated the Jericho Sector in the great Imperium Universalis. The Sector

capital is the hive world of Verronus which once served as a Crusade way-station and has maintained its likes to the wider human

domains in the preceding centuries, while the Shrine world of Eleusis gains prominence some centuries later for its native saint and

because, legend claims, it was blessed with the tread of the Emperor’s foot.

The foundation of the Sector is not without incident, however, as a suppression campaign must be fought against shadowy xenos

forces who have begun to prey upon the stars of the southern zone around the star system of Oertha. The menace is driven off, and

the [Restricted Access], one of the Fleet-based Space Marine Chapters who take part in the campaign claim title and right to the feral

world of [Restricted Access] as one of their recruiting grounds, binding them in part to the defence of the Jericho Sector.

M32-M35

T H E G O L D E N A G E O F T H E J E R I C H O S E C T O R

With the wider Imperium swelling to a peak of power and inﬂ uence, the Jericho Sector is but one of many that bloom into a

renaissance of power and achievement as scores of Imperial worlds of every type are raised up from the rubble of past failures

and the un-trodden soil of alien worlds in Mankind’s name. The

Jericho Sector becomes both a bastion and exemplar of Imperial

civilisation and majesty carved from the cold wilderness of

space with a burgeoning population that quickly soars into

the hundred of billions. The Sector is a hub of commerce and

industry with its bloody past all but forgotten, a realm of piety

and devotion whose renown is such that it is spoken of on Holy

Terra as a gem of Humanity’s domains. Its goods are sought after

as far aﬁ eld as blessed Ultramar and distant Espandor.

With the passage of millennia the power and fortunes of

the Imperium wax and wane, but the Jericho Sector manages

to remain strong and prosperous despite the vicissitudes of war,

invasion, and petty disaster. However, the dawning of M35

heralds both a darkening of the Sector’s fate and the coming of

the Deathwatch into the known histories of the Jericho Reach.

401.M34-975.M35

T H E N O V A T E R R A I N T E R R E G N U M

The Imperium is dived into warring factions by civil war

within the Imperial Commanders. During the centuries of

battle and attrition that follow, the Jericho Sector (distant

enough from the front lines to be spared direct contact with

the conﬂ ict) is nevertheless a vocal and active supporter of the

Terran Loyalists, channelling large volumes of manpower and

resources to fuel the war. The drain of the Sector’s resources

becomes increasingly hard to sustain, leading to widespread

shortages and unrest on many of the worlds of the Jericho

Sector for the ﬁ rst time in living memory.

267.M35

The First Martyr: The ﬁ rst accessible record pertaining to Watch Fortress Erioch available to this Clearance level: Balthazar

Ho’Tsun, Master of the Watch, Captain of the Imperial Fists, has died in an action in the Slinnar Drift. The enemy engaged and

other forces involved are not recorded.

566.M35

The Unseen Death: The [Restricted Access] Space Marine Chapter is declared Excommunicate Traitoris for their high crimes

against the Imperium. As a result, their goods and chattels are also declared forfeit by Inquisitorial order as they themselves are

under sentence of death. The feral world of [Restricted Access] is therefore put under close scrutiny by the Deathwatch of Erioch

according to this order, and thereafter subject to Exterminatus, its presence removed from all maps and charts of the Sector.

990.M35

The Burning of the White Palace: A series of Deathwatch Kill-teams are despatched to Vanir and perform a surgical strike

against the Imperial Governor and his administration. The Kill-teams purge the Governor’s palace of all life and then detonate

a series of inferno devices that reduces it and the surrounding seven square kilometres of the planet’s surface to cinder ash. This

event leaves an indelible mark on Vanir’s history, and enters the mythos of the native population of Vanir as the ‘Wrath of the

Black Angels.’ This incident creates an enduring legend that survives even the later collapse of the planetary civilisation and

unto the modern period.

M36-M37

T H E F A L L

The fall of the Jericho Sector from grace was swift, and much is recorded of its cause before the darkness descended and blotted

out hope and reason.

Circa 100-600.M36

The Age of Apostasy: High Lord Goge Vandire tightens his stranglehold on the Imperium, beginning a monstrous tyranny

that will become known as the Reign of Blood and thereby gives birth to the Age of Apostasy, the darkest period of bloodshed

and strife the Imperium has known since the Great Heresy. As part of his web of power and control, Vandire ensures that

numerous key Imperial Sectors singled out either by their strategic importance or wealth are ﬁ rmly within his sphere of control

by placing in control of them puppet-commanders whose only loyalty lies with him. The Jericho Sector is soon encompassed

by this policy and at the High Lords’ direct command a new ruling partnership comprising the Lady Sector Castagar Murella

and Arch-Cardinal Udo Asterus are appointed as Over-Governors Temporal and Spiritual, respectively, of the Jericho Sector. All

prelates and Imperial commanders must bend their knees to their new masters, whose authority is backed by squadrons of the

Imperial Navy and tens of thousands of Frateris Templar shock troops. Taken by surprise by this unexpected turn of events and

the legitimate authority that carries out the change, the control of Vandire’s puppet rulers goes initially all but uncontested, and

what little resistance that forms is quickly beaten down and a bloody period of tyranny and oppression previously unseen takes

hold of the Jericho Sector. Meanwhile, the Over-Governors become infamous for the speed and callousness with which they

swiftly proceed to expand their personal wealth and power.

The Deathwatch of the Sector, operating in secrecy, and with their extent and holdings unknown to Vandire’s lackeys, follow

their usual millennia-old pattern of non-interference in the Imperium’s worsening domestic affairs unless they impinge on their

remit. However, the Master of the Watch orders all under his command to studiously protect their inviolate nature and secrecy

of the Watch. Any Frateris Templar vessel or force that strays too close or interferes with the Deathwatch’s activities is quietly

and efﬁ ciently diverted or destroyed as a matter of policy, and the secrecy of the Deathwatch is maintained.

245.M36

The Voice of Truth: Yoren Kipraus, Cardinal of Verronus, speaks out publicly against the ‘worldly sin and excess’ of Arch-

Cardinal Asterus and is soon taken in the night by Frateris Templar forces. His basilica is stripped and laid waste and his

clergy slain or enslaved. Kipraus himself, after months of torture, is declared a heretic and is torn apart by marrow-jackals as

entertainment at a great feast in the honour of the anniversary of the Over-Governors’ appointment. For his martyrdom, Kipraus

will later be beatiﬁ ed by order of Sebastian Thor.

257-262.M36

The Poison Hatches Out: Revolts and armed resistance movements

ﬂ are up across the Jericho Sector, as quota-tallies demanded by the Over-

Governors increase exponentially. While most of these insurrections

are quickly and brutally crushed, the resulting collateral damage is

extensive, marring the Sector’s production capacity further, which in

turn means ever increasing demands to make up a shortfall that cannot

be fulﬁ lled, creating an ever-worsening cycle of repression and revolt.

The Over-Governors begin a paranoiac series of purges to remove

anyone that they perceive as a potential threat and increase their revenue

by plundering the coffers of the Sector’s magnates and nobility. Among

these, the estates and vessels of the then absent Free Captain Mordecai

Haarlock, whose holdings span the Jericho Sector and several others beyond its borders, are seized by order of Over-Governor

Murella Mordercai on his return. In protest, Haarlock resists arrest, slaying those who would hold him. He ﬂ ees with a single vessel,

the Spear of Destiny , into the Slinnar Drift, swearing bloody vengeance.

263.M36

The Lord of Lightning: In response to the opening of a cell in the Omega Vault and the revealing of a broken spear of

archaic design and unknown material, a Deathwatch Kill-team undertakes a quest to the Feudal world of Sovereign, which they

discover suffers under the grip of a murderous xenos energy-entity which has offered itself as a false messiah to the natives. The

spectral creature has grown strong on the life-forces of thousands sacriﬁ ced in its name and is worshiped by an army of savage

warriors. A single Deathwatch Battle-Brother returns to Erioch with the Thunder Lord’s shattered crystal heart.

263-270. M36

Haarlock’s War: Through force of personality and fear, Mordecai Haarlock convinces a vagabond ﬂ eet of privateers, refugee

merchants and disgruntled captains to join him in a war of resistance against the Over-Governors and those that stood with

them. They begin a guerrilla war of ambush and lightning attacks against tithe-shipping, lone Frateris Templar vessels and

outposts, as well as smuggling weapons and priests who have turned against Vandire’s mastery of the Ministorum to resistance

movements against Vandire’s rule across the Jericho Reach and in neighbouring regions.

Mordecai Haarlock displays an uncanny genius for this kind of shadowed warfare, both as a corsair captain and spymaster.

As his infamy spreads, he becomes known as the Spider Lord. A single man at the centre of a web comprising countless strands

of terrorist cells, spies, agents, and corsair ships. His emblem of the golden spider clutching an Imperial Eagle becomes a symbol

of hope for those crushed under the Over-Governors’ rule, and a mark of fear for their vassals.

266.M36

Haarlock and Erioch: The annals of Watch Fortress Erioch record the arrival of The Spear of Destiny on the edge of the Erioch

system. Not knowing where he is becalmed, Mordecai Haarlock moves in-system, and he is swiftly surrounded and brought

under the guns of the Deathwatch. Forced to power down, Mordecai and his close associates are taken on board the Watch

Fortress under guard by Kill-teams.

Three days later, Haarlock and his ship are permitted to leave. He never speaks of what occurred within those three days, nor

does he ever return to the Erioch system.

268.M36

The Darkfall: A vast city-sized vessel of unknown origin appears hurtling out of the Warp at great speed in the Andronicus

system, and crashes into Andronicus Prime’s second moon, shattering it. Debris rains down on the planet, blotting out the sun

and laying its verdant forests waste. All life on Andronicus Prime is exterminated in a matter of days.

273. M36

The Defector: Revolt against the Reign of Blood has sparked across the Imperium like wildﬁ re, and elsewhere, the holy Sebastian

Thor’s Confederation of Light is steadily destroying the strength of Vandire’s rule. Fleeing the assassin’s blade for his Thorian

sympathies, Flag Captain Durek of the Imperial Navy battlecruiser Power of Terra encounters Haarlock and agrees to join his cause.

With him he brings a network of contacts within Battleﬂ eet Jericho and alliance with the Confederation of Light.

Deathwatch - Know No Fear OEF.pdf

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