40K Lore: Servants Of Chaos
Chaos cultists are some of the most heinous traitors to humanity out there, and yet for all their villainy, they can still illustrate much about how much we need the Emperor’s protection.
There is nothing more vile and base than a traitor to humanity. Those servants of the Ruinous Powers who have turned their back on the Emperor’s Light are the worst scum–and the lowest of these are the traitorous cultists, who come from the humblest origins and manage to sink even lower than their starting station, becoming debased with corruption, mutation, and evil. Yet these wayward cultists prove how much we need the Emperor’s protection, for Chaos Cultists show that no one is above the seduction of the Warp. Recite your litany against heretical thoughts and let us look at some of the troubled history of Chaos Cults in the Imperium.
All planets and civilisations belonging to the Imperium can harbour Chaos organisations, which themselves are as diverse in practice and membership as is imaginable. From the blood-soaked sacrificial cults of feral worlds to the philosophical secret societies of more advanced worlds, the temptations of Chaos can capture all. Indeed, according to the Ordo Hereticus, Chaos Cults can arise from any class of Imperial society, be it impoverished, noble, hive-gang, abhuman, soldiers, or mutant.
Generally clandestine in nature, as discovery could bring with it attention from local Arbites all the way up to the Inquisition, cults often hide behind the front of some form of legitimate organization in their attempt to accumulate local or planetary power, such as trade unions, charitable organizations, accepted religious groups and even local variants of the Imperial cult.
After taking root, and as it expands in power and influence, eventually the cult may end up effectively ruling anything from a township to an entire planet. Eventually, an uprising breaks out, either on purpose or because the cult has grown too large and/or unruly to remain secret any longer. At this point, the cult can be expected to summon aid from their Chaotic masters, ranging from incurring daemonic possession to summoning the Traitor Legions. Cults may also be uprising in concert with an invasion of Chaos Marines. The ultimate aim of the cult’s uprising is to overthrow the Imperial government and attain direct control of the world. After the conflict, cultists are often taken back into the Eye of Terror where they either join the damned population of a daemon world or are formed up into a Chaos Warlord’s armed forces.
Here are a few notable Chaos Cults from the history of the Imperium. Learn well from the terrible fates that befell these worst of the worst–and take care to keep this in mind should you ever find yourself tempted by the seductive whisper of Chaos.
The Anckorite Brotherhood, led by Luciver Anckorite, instigated a rebellion on the Imperium world Besana, in the Gort System, and nearly succeeded in taking over the world. During that time, the world and its System was under the protection of Warmaster Ryse and Besana’s loss would have had dire consequences for his ongoing Crusade. To safeguard his Crusade’s future, Ryse ordered General Ursarkar E. Creed to do what was necessary to defeat the Cult. Though the Brotherhood outnumbered the Imperium’s forces on Besana ten to one, Creed’s brilliant tactics allowed him to outmaneuver the Brotherhood. This led to their complete destruction.
The Blood Pact is a highly organized Chaos Cult devoted to Khorne. Unlike many cultist warbands, the Pact fought as a disciplined army, similar in training and organization to the Imperial Guard. Originating as the personal army of the warlord Urlock Gaur, they quickly became a dominant “elite” of the Chaos forces opposing the Sabbat Worlds Crusade, and caused the people of the Imperium no small amount of suffering and woe. The Imperium‘s first encounter with the Blood Pact occurred in the aftermath of the Battle of Balhaut in 765.M41, when Archon Nadzybar was slain in personal combat with Warmaster Slaydo. A member of Slaydo’s bodyguard unit, Sergeant Commodus Ryland, was captured and interrogated by a cultist, identifying herself as a warrior of the Blood Pact, loyal to Urlock Gaur.
The Malice Brotherhood, located on Sepheris Secundus, formed when members of the serf class located a tome in the ruins of a mine tunnel, that had been used by a previous chaos cult that had been destroyed by the Inquisition. The massive tome described many of the rites and rituals associated with the extinct cult. The words in the book disturbed them greatly and they considered ridding themselves of it, but they were a desperate people; having long endured the brutal environment and hopeless existence that entails being a miner on Sepheris Secundus. The tome gave a few deluded souls the idea that the best way to escape their fate was to bring down the wrath of the Imperium, to purge the world of all life, and to put an end to their miserable fates and that of their families and friends. Having formed the Malice Brotherhood, they set out to cause enough trouble that the powers in the Imperium would come and purge the planet.
What followed was a massacre as the mutants killed everything in their path. The commissar had the tunnel sealed, leaving anyone inside to the mercy of the mutants. Those members of the cult that still lived were captured, along with the Guard, and changed into mutants that soon worshiped the Stone. Those members of the cult captured on the surface were executed by the Imperial Guard.
Let their grisly fates be a lesson to you, Loremasters. Avoid Chaos, lest you be damned.
