Daemonhunters
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In the fictional Warhammer 40,000 universe, the Daemonhunters (who make up the Ordo Malleus, a sub-section of the Inquisition) are one of the three Ordos of the Holy Emperor's Inquisition. Aided by the Grey Knights Space Marine Chapter, it is the task of the Ordo Malleus to destroy the physical manifestation of Chaos.
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[edit] Foundation and role
The Ordo Malleus was founded after the end of the Horus Heresy to prevent any further daemonic incursion or influence. It is one of the two original Ordos of the Inquisition, the other being the Ordo Xenos. The Ordo Malleus concerns itself with the daemonic threat that faces the imperium and for thousands of years has waged a covert war for humanity's survival. Every single Inquisitor has sworn to pledge their every hour to seeking out and destroying daemonic threats wherever they may appear.
An Inquisitor of the Ordo Malleus has at his disposal all the Imperium may offer. He will not hesitate to recruit local troops at a moment's notice, or to call upon a detachment from the Space Marines. No force is considered too strong to combat such a threat, and to prevent the further spread of Chaos, all records of their actions are eliminated. Those with skills too useful to waste are mind-scrubbed and brainwashed to forget, while any other forces are consigned to labour camps or executed.
When the level of Daemonic infestation is so great that even an Inquisitor can not handle it, an Ordo Malleus Inquisitor can call on the Grey Knights, the Chamber Militant of the Ordo Malleus. Surpassing even their fellow Marines in power, the Grey Knights have the skill and determination to destroy any daemon and send its presence back into the Immaterium.
Without the Ordo Malleus and the Grey Knights, the Imperium would not survive.
[edit] Combat doctrine
In combat, the Inquisition deploys a variety of troops, as an Inquisitor has the authority to command almost any citizen of the Imperium. The forces of the Ordo Malleus could include anything from the Imperial Guard to the Space Marines, and even one of the temples of the Officio Assassinorum. But, the Grey Knights, Chamber Militant of the Ordo Malleus, gallantly pursue the Daemonic wherever it is to be found.
[edit] The Grey Knights
The Grey Knights are issued with the best equipment possible. Their aegis armour shields them against psychic attacks, and is physically repelling to daemons, and is also covered in a shroud of ancient technology making them harder to spot and shoot at on the battlefield. They carry a stormbolter on one wrist, and carry a nemesis force-weapon, which is typically a halberd that is tuned to the Grey Knight's psyche. Heavy weapons squads (Purgation Squads) carry special double barreled flamethrowers (known as incinerators) that are loaded with holy oils that are the anathema for daemon-kind. Psycannons, which carry psychically charged, silver bolts that are inscribed on a microscopic level with holy sayings and litanies, can bypass material and psychic shields.They are especially suited to fighting the Daemonic.
The devotion of the Grey Knights to their duties and their vows is quite notable; as of current background fiction, no Grey Knight has ever turned to Chaos or otherwise been declared Excommunicate Traitoris during the chapter's entire recorded history.
The Daemonhunter Codex explains that the Grey Knights are descended from the Emperor's own flesh and were created specifically to stave off future daemonic intrusion (Post-Horus Heresy).
The first members were loyalists from the space marine legions that turned traitor during the Horus Heresy. These men - from a variety of legions - escaped in a badly damaged space cruiser from the Istvaan System, where Horus was setting the stage for his betrayal of humanity and the Emperor.
Organization is not a large issue in this Space Marine Chapter, as they are usually split up, light years away from their brethren. Recruits are drawn from feral worlds as the other Astartes except the recruit must show signs of a psyker, though any Chaos taint will rebuke his skills and the planet may be investigated further by the Inquisition. After going through all the necessary steps to becoming a Space Marine, and possibly a few more, the recruit has to be finally checked before being able to don the ancient, Aegis armour and his new Nemesis force weapon.
Grey Knights then join a squad, under the command of a Justicar. Eventually, they will learn the battle skill and join a teleport or Purgation squad and become Justicars themselves, teaching and commanding their own squad. If judged to be of proper piousness and knowledge, they might join a terminator squad, for one must be extremely accomplished to wear these holy suits. If somehow, through the Blessed Emperor, a Grey Knight lives past becoming a Brother Captain, commander of a terminator squad, he may become a Grand Master. Akin to a Chapter Master of other Chapters, a Grand Master may have colleagues in the same position, where up to three act as Grand Masters. A Grand Master always occupies a seat in the Inner Enclave of the Inquisition for reasons to keep the organizations coherent.
[edit] Nemesis Force Weapons
Perhaps the most distinguishing part of any Grey Knight is his weapon. Many speculate that the halberds used by the Grey Knights came in fact from the design of the Guardian Spear that are used by the Adeptus Custodes. All Nemesis Force Weapons are crafted with the purest materials to the highest standards. Each weapon is also unique as it is tailored specifically to the wielder's psychic energies. Because of this, no one can use a Nemesis Force Weapon other than the owner. The weapon will accumulate power as its owner gains experience. Higher ranking knights can destroy even Terminator armour with their Force Weapon. Grand Masters can kill monstrous creatures outright with a single stab. Nemesis Force Weapons normally take the shape of a sword or halberd but can also be an axe or any other melee weapon.
This, however, is in conflict with the novel Grey Knights where the Nemesis Sword of the late Grand Master Mandulis was used by a Grey Knight Justicar to defeat the tainted corpse of St. Evisser as a prelude to the summoning of a lieutenant of Tzeentch.
[edit] Grand Master Mandulis
Mandulis headed a force of three hundred Grey Knights on to the Chaos corrupted world of Khorion IX in an attempt to vanquish the daemon Ghargatuloth back into the Immaterium. His Nemesis weapon becomes a plot device in a sequence of events that come into play after he vanquishes the daemon into the Warp for one thousand years. The sacrifice of the three hundred Grey Knights results in the banishing of Ghargatuloth. None, save the body of Grand Master Mandulis and his Nemesis weapon, were recovered.
[edit] Brother-Captain Stern
Brother-Captain Stern has served the Grey Knights for many long years. His most famous act was when he banished the Lord of Change M'kachen back into the Warp for one hundred years and a day. When the vengeful daemon finally returned he vowed to send Captain Stern into the realm of the dead no matter what the cost. He appears on the battlefield to face Stern every chance he gets.
[edit] Justicar Alaric
Justicar Alaric single-handedly banished the Lord of Change Ghargatuloth back into the Warp for one thousand years after speaking its True Name, thereby weakening it enough to be vanquished from the material world.
He also ventured to the long-lost Forge World of Chaeronia after it had been taken into the warp during the Horus Heresy, only to arrive during the 13th Black Crusade. Here he was responsible for destroying a corrupted STC Titan.
[edit] Quotations
- "It is better that one hundred innocents fall before the wrath of the Emperor than one bows before the Daemon."
~First Book of Indoctrinations
- "Innocence proves nothing."
~Inquisitorial motto
- "Better crippled in body than corrupted in mind"
~Inquisitorial motto
[edit] References
- Andy Chambers, Phil Kelly and Graham McNeill (2003). Codex: Daemonhunters. Games Workshop. ISBN 1-84154-361-6.
