THE GRIMDARK PAST
Embedded Files
The history of humanity beyond Sirius ended at the gates of the Radiance.
With it, many brethren mourned, having left behind their struggling Legion Detachments of Old.
We scribes are left to fit the legends of their Civil War into what little remains. We toil for the God Founder.
- Scribe Janos
⫘ Dark Era
⫘ Dark Era
ⵜ440 Empire
In the earliest days of humanity's expansion, climate ruin, resource depletion, and oligarchy stalked Earth. A husk, drained by greed and neglect. With an uncertain future on the horizon, mankind’s salvation came in the form of a scientific spark - faster-than-light travel. Primitive fleets broke Sol's chains, stretching humanity’s reach across the stars. By 2468, the conquest of Alpha Centauri marked humanity’s first true step beyond Earth, the first of many to follow.
But this expansion was born of need, not unity. Exploitation replaced prosperity. Colonial governors ruled entire worlds as private fiefdoms, enforced by corporate and mercenary police. The common folk, the heart of this empire, toiled in silence, their suffering invisible to those on high. Resentment simmered beneath the surface, from the deepest mining tunnels to the massive orbital habitats, a constant reminder of the brutal reality that defined the human Empire.
ⵜⵜ00 Machine Rebellion
In ⵜⵜ00, the Iron Servants malfunctioned, the records are unclear. Machines designed to obey without question instead turned on humanity, causing widespread destruction. It is assumed, the docile Machine Cult of Old caused this calamity, and the seemingly harmless followers of the tech-blasphemy were persecuted and mistreated ever since. Whole sectors of space were lost, entire colonies ravaged.
It was during this time that the first aliens of Old emerged, long hidden from the human eye and its armadas. Alien High Elf Fleet used their esoteric reasons to attack innocent worlds and vessels. Colonies were plundered by Orc Marauders, drawn in by the widespread destruction. This seemed to have sealed humanity’s fate.
ⵜ889 Tyre Rebellion
The first human Empire fractured, splintering into isolated strongholds, each one struggling to survive in a galaxy now teeming with hostile forces.
Around 2889, the first human rebellions set fire to New Tyre, one of the last strongholds. The desperate rulers of Earth soon unveiled their answer: Battle Armour, provided by a secret donor. Encased in composite plating, prototype shock-troops started suppressing rebellion after rebellion. Mercy was a concept of the past.
2912 Secret Crusade
In desperation lurked ambition. In the one concrete year of 2912, a nameless gene-scientist emerged. He offered rebirth, the Gene-Mods. Humanity could be reforged, made stronger, tireless, able to tame the cruelest stars. Beside him stood the first superhuman warriors and his acolytes of the Conduit, ready to help a dying Empire.
Whispered of as the Founder, he rose from obscurity, gathering support among Earth’s technocrats, generals, and the disillusioned colonies. In secrecy, the first true Battle Brothers were born — genetically-enhanced soldiers, born from science and ambition. Clad in perfected Battle Armour, they swore their loyalty to the Founder. Rumors of attacks from 40 different detachements of brute and unbreakable warriors began to spread.
The crusade against alienkind had begun in secret long ago, a campaign for the restoration of human supremacy. Some of the greatest Legion detachements revealed themselves with triumphs in the most isolated of sectors, rallied by charismatic Grandmasters. The Luna, Fire, Medusa and Death Legion drove many Alien races to extinction. Many yet hid in darker corners of the galaxy, like the weird Slaug-Maggotmen that possesed and destroyed 3 whole detachements, whose names are lost to time.
But already during the first triumphs, whispers of deceit appeared. Some rulers clung to their authority, and dark powers envied the success of humanity. As the Dark Era came to a close, promises of rebellion hanged in the void, a rebellion against the very foundation of the Empire itself.
⸸ Civil War
⸸ Civil War
2912 Rise of the Founder
The Founder’s work was both miracle and treachery. He shared a grand vision with all of humanity - of unity and rebirth. He denounced the Machine Cult, condemning it as the architect of mankind's dark era. Instead he offered unity bound by race, loyalty, and strength. Millions saw salvation in his Gene-Legions.
In the decades that followed, the Founder’s Battle Brothers swept aside the crumbling rulers, establishing protectorates in their place. His acolytes - the Custodians - guarded him zealously, enforcing order and protecting his Conduit Program, the secret to his immortality.
Having seized the cradle of humanity, the Protectorate of Lucipol, the Founders Custodians vowed never to leave its borders. From this stronghold they watched over the other Protectorates, ensuring unwavering loyalty. Meanwhile the Legions became the feared conquerors of the Empire, their might spreading to the furthest colonies. Yet in their isolation, many grew distant and created believes and realms of their own.
2940 Dawn of War
Many Battle Brothers served him, overtaking the colonies. Some, like the Night Legion, turned rogue, refusing all commands and breaking free of the Empire. Their motivations remained obscure and bizzare, but their defiance showed a crack in the Founders influence. Others, like the Hydra and Word legion, started sowing rebellion and betrayal across all Protectorates in envy of their brothers realms.
As the Civil War ignited, once-loyal Battle Brothers declared themselves Traitors, forging dark pacts with the very forces of hell, the Havoc Gods. In hidden temples on forsaken worlds, these renegades cast aside their oaths and pledged themselves to the chaos gods, seeking power beyond the Founder’s design. Lines blurred as daemonic whispers seeped into the minds of human generals and machine cultists alike, even the superhuman fanatics.
The Massacre near Ivan-Y marked a dark beginning of the war, sewing paranoia, pain and rage into the heart of the Legions. With the Crusade Master himself betraying the Empire, planets burned, fleets shattered, futures ended. Unknown thousands fell, entire detachements were lost forever. Many that refused to surrender were slaughtered by the Machine Cult fleets. Only a few detachements made it out like the hardy Medusa Legion.
No mercy.
— The Crusade Master, Grandmaster of the Luna Legion
ⵜⵜ53 The Siege
The Battle for Lucipols capital, Lisbon, became an anvil. Its towering fortifications and ancient walls, scarred but unyielding, weathered an unrelenting assault. The Founder’s forces clashed violently against the traitorous Battle Brothers and insurgent militias. Explosions shattered streets, and the once-proud city began to crumble under the weight of war, even as the maddening calls of daemons echoed through the ruins—summoned by none other than the Crusade Master himself.
Siege lines stretched beyond the city, extending into the stars as warfleets engaged overhead. The Imperial Legion, the prime defenders of Lucipol, held firm against tidal waves of daemons. The Blood, Scarred, and Dark Legions fought fiercely, their crimson and black banners stained with the blood of those who once fought beside them. The trenches were soaked with the blood of the traitors, and the streets ran red as the Empire’s might sought to break the rebels.
They are here. Now Lucipol becomes a battleground. History is rewritten.
- Grandmaster of the Imperial Legion
ⵜⵜ60 The Battle at the Edge of Space
In the final struggles, humanity grew desperate. The Refugee Exodus was a desperate attempt to flee from the fires of battle, igniting chaos throughout the Empire’s inner worlds. With the Battle Brother detachments engaged in the frontlines, even the Custodians, could not halt the rising tide of defection. A surge of civilian-aligned militias stormed the Empire’s royal shipyard, beginning a rebellion that saw the unthinkable happen. The irreplaceable symbol of his power was stolen, the Founder’s flagship.
Major armadas of both traitors and loyalists gave chase, but the battle was far from over. The pursuit would stretch to the edge of known space. There on barren worlds like Ultram and Iron, fleets clashed violently. Amid the chaos of the distracted fleets, the vengeful Imperial and Ultra Legions descended upon the planets, starting endless sieges. Vessels engaged in daring crossfires, boarding crafts teared through the void. The Iron Legion showed its unbreakable will and slowed down the pursuers advance for years.
As the Loyalist fleets regrouped, they purged a bloody path through the blockade, firing into the retreating ships of the rebels and traitors. Explosions rang out across space, and with each detonation, the very fabric of the surrounding space began to warp and fracture. The chaos of battle seemed to tear the very fabric of reality apart. Then, just as the last of the fleets attempted to break through the blockade, the unimaginable happened.. The nearby Sirius Wormhole started expanding. When the God Founder’s stolen flagship got swallowed by the radiance, alarms went of aboard Traitor and Loyalists vessels as they had to choose. Retreat from the Edge or pursue destiny. Many didn’t get to choose as the radiance cascaded, absorbing all, spitting them forth in an alien sector.
The Civil War Era did not die — it evolved. Sirius became the Empire’s new frontier — a place of alien foes, broken fleets, and new wars without end.
✦ Sirius Cascade
✦ Sirius Cascade
ⵜⵜ60 Descent into Sirius
Pursuing Loyalist and Traitor forces, still locked in fire, were surrounded by changing colours and energies of hell. Flagships cracked open, escorts collided mid-warp. No one commanded. No one escaped.
In the final assault The God Founder fell - to something unknown. His damaged flagship, ravaged by traitor and loyalist forces, vanished inside the hellish wormhole. Never to emerge again. His fall marked the end of an era
When the light dimmed, they found themselves beyond the edge. Earth, humanity, and many Brothers of Old were left behind. The ruins of the old galaxy faded behind collapsing space. Many forgotten Legions remained, holding the line in the darkness, never having the chance to say farewell. They carried on with the Cleansing, pursuing the long task of banishing every traitor from the galaxy.
The cold, foreign and alien worlds of Sirius awaited.
On the other side, the Custodians fleet emerged, the Conduit Program somehow intact, a miracle in the face of utter ruin. Around them, the remnants of humanity rallied, though scattered and broken. The reformed Machine Cult still in crisis from the fracture, submitted. Weakened Battle-Brother detachments begun their watch over stranded civilian populations. Together, they formed the Greater Human Alliance, their bonds forged not in unity, but in the necessity of survival.
The curse of humanity, the Traitors, survived. Claiming new worlds for themselves. There would be no peace. The struggle had not ended.
On the Machine Priests' tablets, countless nodes flickered ominously, their meaning unclear. New alien horrors, drawn by the scent of humanity. New Alien horrors were drawn to the scent of humanity.
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse