Warhammer 40K: Castellan’s Crowe’s Burden
Today we talk about the incorruptible yet cursed scion of Titan, the Grey Knights Castellan Garran Crowe.
Garran Crowe is Castellan Champion of the Grey Knights’ Purifiers order and the bearer of the Blade of Antwyr — a daemon sword that cannot be destroyed, nor wielded by lesser mortals.
History
Crowe’s wardenship of the Blade of Antwyr came about after the death of its previous wielder, Merrat Gavallan. His ownership of the blade has brought him both physical and spiritual peril. When not fighting the maddened mortals and desperate daemons that are drawn by the sword’s evil, Crowe must do psychic battle with the Blade itself, for it strives ever to tempt him with promises of power or bind his will with the blackest sorceries. As such, Crowe never draws upon the Blade’s powers, relying instead on its physical properties and his own skill at arms.
In 888.M41, the daemon Skulltaker‘s Blood Crusade seized the desolate planet of Birmingham and began rituals that would transform it into a Daemon World. Crowe deployed along with the Grey Knights of strike force “Iron Helm” into the heart of the daemonic horde. Judging that no other Grey Knight had the skill to best Skulltaker, Crowe challenged the daemon to single combat. Using a vial of the Emperor‘s crystalised tears to consecrate the ground, Crowe managed to weaken Skulltaker just enough to force a protracted stalemate. As Crowe battled Skulltaker to a standstill in the twilight ruins of the spaceport, the Grey Knights defeated the daemon horde.
During the Psychic Awakening, Crowe was sent to rescue the Grey Knights who were unable to escape Sortiarius, following the Chapter’s retreat from the Daemon World.
The Blade of Antwyr
The Blade of Antwyr is a Grey Knights relic and Daemon Weapon, currently wielded by Garran Crowe. Although Crowe wields the Blade of Antwyr, he does not draw upon its otherworldly powers lest it destroy his very soul, and instead uses it as he would any blade of sharpened steel.
The Blade of Antwyr is a mysterious and formidable weapon first discovered by the Grey Knights in the 37th Millennium during the Occlusiad, however they were unable to secure the weapon for three millennia before finally capturing it on Tethys. Originally a possession of the Blind King, the blade proved resistant to any attempts by the Grey Knights to destroy it.
Knowing that the weapon was too dangerous to be left even on Titan, the Grey Knights eventually decided to safeguard it in the care of the Castellan Champion of the Purifiers, the leader of the Purifier Order. Castellan Crowe was chosen as the current guardian of the weapon following the death of the previous Castellan Champion, Merrat Gavallan, on Sandava II and he bears a great burden by wielding it. The Blade constantly tempts Crowe and attempts to corrupt him with its evil energies.
Purifiers
Purifiers are members of the Grey Knights Chapter, one of two elite brotherhoods (the other being the Paladins). They stand watch at the Chamber of Purity on Titan.
Purifiers serve as the spiritual heart of the Grey Knights and are an anathema to Warp spawn with the dark taint of these creatures withering at the touch of a Purifier. This gift means that they form their own small yet entirely unique Brotherhood.
Their order is set apart from their Battle-Brothers, as they serve as exemplars of their Chapter’s warrior ideals along with their sanctity of purpose. Their eyes burn with a black fire bordering on fanaticism whilst showing a dour and taciturn attitude. Their untarnished spirit serves as both their most defining trait and ultimate weapon which combines with their psychic might to create a burning flame that not only surrounds their body but their soul itself. Every being which harbours evil or malevolence fuels this fire that leaves none unscathed except the Purifier themselves.
Membership in their number is given to those that show a tally of grim deeds soaked in blood, valour and skill, with no set procedure or training regime for entering their ranks. In fact, a Grey Knight can serve the Chapter for centuries with distinction without ever being granted the honour of membership into the Brotherhood of Purifiers. The Purifiers themselves only select those Battle-Brothers who show an incorruptible soul and who demonstrate resistance to the temptations of the Warp even amongst the standards of the Grey Knights. This high standard meant that there are only a few Purifiers at any time, and no thought has ever been given to relaxing the restrictions, in fear that it would compromise the sanctity of their order. At any given moment, there are rarely more than forty Purifiers and only with the arrival of some great incursion do their ranks swell in number.
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