Warhammer 40K: World Eaters Flagships – Chariots of Rage
My fellow grimdark Admirals, today learn of the dread vessels that lead the twisted World Eaters fleet.
The World Eaters are led by several key vessels used for both Legion command and personal missions. They are amongst the most feared vessels in the galaxy, for where they sail – bloodshed and carnage lay close behind.
Conqueror
The Conqueror was a Gloriana Class Battleship of the World Eaters during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy. It was among the largest Gloriana-class vessels alongside the Vengeful Spirit, Hrafnkel, and Iron Blood. During the Heresy, the Conqueror was commanded by flag-captain Lotara Sarrin.
Early History
Prior to the discovery of Angron, the ship served the Legion under the name Adamant Resolve. Upon being reunited with their Primarch, it quickly became Angron’s personal flagship during the later Crusade and subsequent Horus Heresy. The Conqueror was heavily modified to fit his methods of war better. Its most notable modification was an Ursus Claw array – a set of giant harpoons designed to spear enemy vessels from afar and drag them into close range so that boarding actions could be conducted.
Horus Heresy
After the events of the Shadow Crusade and the transformation of Angron into a Daemon Prince, the Conqueror began to become corrupted. By the time the Iron Warriors found it orbiting Deluge, it was still at the head of the World Eaters but bore the signs of the Warp as well as many battle scars. The Ship accompanied the Iron Warriors back to Ullanor for the traitor’s muster before taking part in the Siege of Terra. It next appeared as part of a massive traitor armada at the climax of the Solar War as a massive Warp Rift formed over Luna. Angron was perched on top of the vessel in the void of the space, issuing a shrieking order to attack.
Siege of Terra
By the time of the Siege of Terra, the Conqueror was heavily corrupted and in total disarray, with much of its crew killed by Angron or his mad World Eaters. However, Lotara Sarrin continued to try to hold the ship together and keep an orderly crew. During one of Angron’s rages near the reactor core, Sarrin feared that he might cause a catastrophic meltdown, and she convinced Khârn to confront Angron in the bowels of the vessel and teleport him aboard the labyrinth within the Nightfall.
During the Siege of Terra, the Conqueror was one of the Traitor vessels that took part in the destruction of the Emperor‘s flagship, Imperator Somnium. By the final stages of the Siege of Terra, the heavily mutated Conquerors Machine Spirit gained full sentience, reanimating its crew into wraiths to conduct basic functions. This included the ship’s captain, Lotara Sarrin, who, in reality, had fused with the vessel.
Post Heresy Service History
Following Horus’s defeat at Terra, the Conqueror fled into the Eye of Terror under the command of Shâhka. After this point, it began to appear sporadically at the head of small raiding flotillas, and after the Battle of Skalathrax, it faded into obscurity.
It was reported destroyed by the Imperium in M35, but this proved to be incorrect as it was spotted again in 435.M37 raiding Segmentum Obscurus. It has changed hands several times as World Eaters Chaos Lords have claimed and lost the vessel. The Conqueror reappeared prominently for the first time since the Heresy during the Gothic War at the command of Heinrich Bale. It escaped destruction once again in the war, subsequently reappearing at the forefront of the fleet of Kossolax the Foresworn during the 13th Black Crusade.
Following the destruction of Cadia, Kossolax was on the verge of reunifying the World Eaters as well as finally taming the maddened Machine Spirit of the Conqueror that had once been Lotara Sarrin. However, it was then that Angron himself reemerged into Realspace aboard the vessel’s command bridge. Kossolax used the Conqueror as the vanguard of his fleet to unleash Angron onto both Kalkin’s Tribune and Hydases.
Skulltaker
Skulltaker is a Strike Cruiser of the World Eaters Legion. In the years since the shattering of the World Eaters at Skalathrax, Skulltaker has become the personal flagship of Khârn the Betrayer and his Butcherhorde.
Redblade Rider
The Redblade Rider is the flagship of the Fire Riders World Eaters Warband. When they raid worlds, the Fire Riders launch directly from the Redblade’s embarkation decks onto their unsuspecting foes. This is possible through the blessings given to the Warband‘s leader Invocatus, as his Juggernaut Khal’guruth creates a bridge of fire as it races across the skies.
Report any activity of these Heretic vessels immediately to your nearest Battlefleet Sector HQs!
