The levee breaks: The Third War for Coldforge
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| [//Silver Stars tactical Pseudolegionaries respond to Death Eagles advances through the Commercia Publicus in Trunt. +] [//@death_of_a_rubricist+] |
'All things wither; nothing persists forever. The collapse of complexity into simpler states was once understood to be a natural and irreducible law of the universe. You challenge that constant, Red-Taloned Lord. You and your motley of Gholams.Defy the universe if you must. But remember, time is patient.'
[//Thoughtmark transcription – Tho ben Baruch; Shrouded Esdras+]
Coldforge's Puxos Nigra (a highly-advanced and stable storage device that traditionally forms a substantial part of each Forgeworld's High Altar) makes it clear that there were just two major conflicts during the period. Since these devices are supposedly inviolable, and their memory unalterable, we are left with a quandry. It seems possible that one of the wars was invented whole cloth – though to what purpose is unclear – but the question remains as to which one?
The lone record for the Third War for Coldforge is surprisingly complete and compelling. Known solely from the so-called Dookhan Codex, its in-depth and matter-of-fact tone, as well as its seemingly privileged access to Astartes and Inquisitorial secrets, makes it immediately suspicious. On the other hand, many of the details within are vanishingly unlikely to have been concocted by a fabulist, as they tally so closely to the details of the other two wars.
While no satisifying conclusion is likely to emerge at this point, our best estimate must be to assume either than the Dookhan Codex drew from the records of the broader War of the False Primarch – a fiendishly difficult task in the face of the Obliteration Edict – to create a convincing 'what-if?' scenario; or that the records of the First and/or Second War for Coldforge were later created using material drawn from the Codex.
The remainder of this report makes no such assumption.
[//Thought for the day: A coward always seeks compromise.+]
***
Précis
Successive conflicts – the First War, and the Second War – had brought the formerly prosperous Forgeworld of Coldforge to ruins. Shells of manufactora, wailing trails of refugees, and rad-tainted wastes now pock-marked the surface of a planet ill-equipped to support its defenders. Nominally a Partisan world, it stood largely as a symbol of defiance, owing to its critical position on the warp routes into the Myrean League Shieldworlds.
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| [//Coldforge {tithegrade=} Aptus non effective+] |
The third and final war for the planet saw the Pentarchy move to retake Coldforge from the Partisans. Spearheaded by the Death Eagles, and supported by elements of the Red Talons and Carcharodons, this conflict was regarded by Master Enoch and the Chapter Masters of the Pentarchy as essential to provide a stepping stone onwards to the Myrean League, where they could finally confront and sanction the False Primarch.
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| [//Death Eagles Tactical Marine – note the prominent death-cult honorifics, marking the Astartes as an initiate of the Vault Athaneum.+] [//@lichs_lab+] |
[//Princip. belligerents={Pentarchy}//][Death Eagles]
[//Accessory. belligerents={Pentarchy}//][Red Talons] [Carcharodons]
[//Princip. belligerents={Partisan}//][Riven Lords] [Silver Stars]
[//Accessory. belligerents={Partisan}//][Argent Heralds] [Marines Saturnine] [Storm Tyrants] [Star Wardens]
Besides foreshadowing the critical Siege of the Myrean League Shieldworlds, which would ultimately decide the result of the broader rebellion, the Third War for Coldforge was also notable for revealing the dishonourable depths to which both sides would descend.
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| [//The rainstorms generated by void-vessel atmospheric entry as the Pentarchy deployed blur the details of this Riven Lords Assault Sergeant, tentatively linked to the kinband 'Orphans of Ostroth'. Note the bandolier of grenades and coral-pink crest, likely worn in salute to the Silver Stars.+] [//@stoned_ape_paints+] |
***
Prelude to the Third War
The number of forces involved serves to highlight the gradually tightening nature of the broader War. The 'False Primarch', Volnoscere, had gathered the bulk of his forces in the Myrean League Shieldworlds, with substantial portions of every Partisan Chapter deputised to fortify and defend the various systems. Besides those portions left to patrol the broader Partisan holdings – the Red Fish, for example, retained a substantial mobile garrison in and around their homeworld of Ishim – the Partisan Astartes had been gathered into the personal orbit of Volnoscere.
The seeming desire for a straightforward battle of wills suited the Orthodoxy, and with the notable exception of the wayward Carcharodons, more than eighty per cent of all Orthodox Astartes forces were withdrawn from Sector Morqub to Heliopolis. Of course, given their swollen size following the Diet of Fools, this meant many hundreds remained in Sector Morqub to prosecute the war and prevent the Partisans from retrenching.
Despite this gathering of might, the number of Chapters involved is perhaps misleading. This was not a glorious massed war, but rather a scrabbling of remnants in the ashes. By this point, Coldforge was in ruins, its once loftily neutral status meaning little more than both sides of the conflict regarding it as a resource to be exhausted. Fewer than two thousand Astartes were involved in the battle in all, with the majority of the fighting between Skitarii and Guard forces of both sides. Some of the Chapters were represented with little more than a demi-company.
***
Pentarchy strength and aims
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| [//ident{incerto} Posit: Dwimmerlock, Tywin{?}+] [//nick_c/@jager262/themodellingedge+] |
'Tywin Dwimmerlock, Eleventh of his Name and [REDACTED] of the Canon; led two hundreds, eight and tenne of the Canon Sanctified herewith; and one hundred and two Canon Servi alike [REDACTED]. And also let it be written that the Gorgonson Morr [sic.] would lead three hundreds of his Talyns, those who dwelt in the light and those who werre dispatchéd.
In this he re-enacts in formme the Action of Mykana; and thus goes to victory [...]'
[//Unconfirmed period vox-incept; popularly supposed to be a pre-battle record of the Coldforge Third War+]
As with the first war, Dwimmerlock is believed to have led his men during the third war on Coldforge; perhaps intending to build upon his successes on Orlando, or to avenge himself for the events on Null. His goals were simple: to stamp out Partisan forces in detail, and secure the planet – alive or dead – as a safe stepping stone into the Myrean League.
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| [//Tactical Squad Vengaarl, 3rd Battle Company, Death Eagles. +] [//@noctuscornix+] |
After achieving orbital supremacy, the Death Eagles spearheaded and oversaw the landing of a motley group of Pentarchy veterans, primarily around the Shrine of Saints and Halcyon Square. The bulk of these elite forces were Death Eagles and Red Talons, but others were later also reported as present by Orthodox Guard and Ecclesiarchy forces in subsequent interrogations and debriefings – most notably isolated fireteams of forces later concluded to be drawn from the Storm Giants and Golden Hand; both Chapters that had taken the Annulus Vow, and neither of which were officially authorised to be present within the cordon.
The Coldforge Theatre was also notable as being the first warzone to see the resurgence of the Red Talons as a unified fighting force that deployed on a greater scale than just tactical and sub-company level – a development that was undoubtedly met with relief on the part of Orthodox high command, and dismay by the Partisans.
Following Autek Mor's death on Moreaumunda at the hands of Argo of the Star Wardens, the Chapter had seemed uncharacteristically hesitant and rudderless, the loss of their belligerent and iconic leader clearly having hit them hard.
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| [//Red Talons, under Raban Voss – promoted to Captain during this campaign+] [//@the_iron_within+] |
Notably, several 'sleeper cells' of Charnel Guard Astartes had remained behind, deep beneath the planet’s Southern Forges in the wake of the Second War. Left in stasis by their brothers to await their return years later, these few remained undetected and emerged only as Pentarchy forces made planetfall once more.
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| [//Seargeant Ghul of the Charnel Guard+] [//@grimburbs+] |
These proved inordinately effective; their appearance deep behind Partisan lines proved catastrophic for the defenders. A small cell of veterans – possibly fewer than a dozen – was mentioned in despatches for routing an entire battalion of the Ursk 153rd Motor Rifle Partisan Guard Regiment. According to fragmented records of these incidents, dazed survivors were frequently allowed to flee, spreading fear back through the ranks of their unit.
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| [//We have come for you.+] [//@grimburbs+] |
Yvenner clawed frantically for a weapon. After moments that felt like weeks, his fingers scrabbled over the strap of a lasgun amongst the rubble. Operational, he almost cried with relief. He checked the magazine and thumbed the safety off, taking aim at the doorway.Time slowed down for the sergeant as the enormous Astartes entered the room. He emptied his clip into the torso of the black-armoured giant as it strode toward him, the fusilade of the depowered rifle barely leaving a scorch mark. Yvenner looked on in disbelief, tears of denial pricking his eyes as he stammered.‘H-h-how? You shouldn’t be here..’The sergeant was overcome with terror, soiling himself as the Charnel Guard knelt down beside him, the growl of static from the power armoured vox-grille growing louder, until it was almost deafening.‘We never left. And now we have come for you – and your mummer's Primarch’.
While the Red Talon's actions and intent were seemingly unknown to the broader Orthodox forces, there is nothing to suggest that the Death Eagles hid their intentions from their allies. Indeed, Coldforge demonstrated that they worked alongside human forces extensively, amongst them the Arkhan Shock Troops – elite warriors who had served in the Second War, and had established a workable resistance force on the planet while under Partisan rule.
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| [//Arkhan Shock Troops advance in front of their unconventional support vehicles+] [//@minicology+] |
Having been used to great effect for instigating unrest and coordinating resistance in the prelude to and early stages of Chapter Master Titanus' shadow campaigns on Coldforge following the Second War, the elite guerilla units of Arkhan Schola Shock Troops were resupplied and requisitioned by Death Eagle forces during the main stages of the Third war to perform counterstrikes in positions held by those mortal soldiery that cast there lot in with Partisan forces.
In the interim of the Second and Third Battles for Coldforge, elements of the Arkhan 12th Gheist Foxes and 138th Drakons consolidated with forces of Inquisitor Cüchallain to maintain contact and gather intelligence from Orthodox-leaning tech Magi looking to unburden themselves of the increasingly unpredictable Partisan Astartes overlords.
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| [//Reinforced and reinvigorated, the surviving Orthodox resistance on Coldforge was well-placed and well-informed. Making good use of local knowledge, they proved highly effective in disrupting Partisan defensive efforts.] [//@minicology+] |
Working with these crucial individuals saved hundreds of Pentarchy Astartes lives through the application of amassed, sidelined, and hidden archaeotech, bolter round, and – crucially, the Mark VI plate that the Partisans intended to spirit away to reinforce their allies. These crucial resources were sequestered away from the Partisans by the actions of the Arkhan Shock Troops, depriving the Partisans and providing the Pentarchy through the final stages of the war.
These combined forces suffered severe casualties while retrieving these hidden resources from vaults in the hinterlands and shuttling them to where they were most needed when large scale and extended fighting broke out yet again on Coldforge. The few survivors would bring their reformed units many accolades – even though they were duty-bound to silence regarding this campaign, for fear of the wicked truth of the False Primarch twisting the minds of weaker men.
[//Inquisitor Cüchallain+]
***
Partisan strengths and aims
As for the defenders, it was apparent from the start that Coldforge could not be held, and so for the Partisans the objectives were threefold:
- Evacuate as much materiel as possible to their allies in the Myrean League
- To degrade the remaining manufactora – a form of salting the earth to ensure the planet would provide no succour to the Pentarchy and their Orthodox Allies once it did fall
- To delay the Pentarchy as much as possible and provide the Shieldworlds with time to prepare.
The bulk of the fighting was centred around the remaining Manufactora Districts, the remainder of the planet being populated only by refugees, non-combatants and feral servitors 'liberated' by the destruction of their homelands in the earlier wars. Much had fallen into dereliction, and so the Partisans could pick and choose their battlefields.
Famed for their resourcefulness and closeness to the Silver Stars, the Riven Lords proved to be a canny choice to place in primary defence of the planet. The Chapter made up a substantial part of the Astartes deployed to the defence of the Forgeworld, with two entire Companies spearheading the Skitarii and Guard defenders. Besides them stood perhaps a Century of Silver Stars (around 86 or so infantry, as far as can be reckoned) Commander Kaohi's own troops, and two score or so other Partisans, including Argent Heralds, Marines Saturnine, Storm Tyrants, Star Wardens; some deployed in mixed scratch squads or isolation. These latter few were volunteers, Primarch-fanatics who had elected to earn glory – and time – for their Chapters through personal sacrifice.
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| [//Riven Lords veterans isolate a surviving Red Talon in the Glean Straits ambush. Note the Silver Star honorific on the leftmost Marine; a sign he had fought alongside the 'Primarch' himself on Null.+] [//@sharkamanderminis+] |
***
Polemarchy
Prior to Coldforge, the Riven Lords had achieved a reputation amongst the common citizenry as ruthless but relatable. They had made a point of volunteering to fight alongside non-Astartes troops during the battles for the planets of the Delphurnean League earlier in the War, and gained many plaudits – not to mention converts to the Partisan cause – as a result of their heroic actions. In part this leaned into their pre-established infantry-heavy mode of warfare, both planetside and in void warfare, but it had increasingly been forced upon them due to their uncertain recruitment – a result of the loss of many of their Scouts.
This event had clearly caused a great deal of angst for the Chapter, dedicated as they were to honour and duty to the 'Returned Primarch'. By the time of Coldforge, the Chapter's lofty ideals had clearly become soured by the practicalities of the war, and the demands their veterans put on the 'mortal troops' under their command had become unceasing and dolorous.
On Coldforge, the extremes to which the Chapter would later fall was to become more apparent – a warning that apparently went unnoticed and unanswered.
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| [//Penal troops – like this Delphurnean League deserter – made up a substantial part of the defending non-Astartes forces. Note the Riven Lord discipline master in the background. + [@sharkamanderminis+] |
Riven Lords officers – termed Polemarchs – were attached to the human forces under Partisan control, and quickly made their intentions clear. Acculturated to straitened times and rationing, the Riven Lords' Chapter Cult had always made a virtue of adaptability, and those troops sighted on Coldforge were commonly weighed down by additional munitions, tools and equipment – sometimes at the expense of nutritional supplies.
This practice was forced upon the defending troops, and while it made them more effective in static defence, there were dozens of reports of exhaustion, despair and even desertion amongst the Riven Lords' forces during the battles over Coldforge. To the Riven Lords, it seems, this was a price worth paying – to the Polemarchs, the ends justified the means.
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| [//Partisan militia infantry resting between engagements at Coldforge, Late War+] [//@duckcalledsue+] |
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| [//A Riven Lords Astartes directs overburdened local forces in a 'mouseholing' operation through the Dundregh Burbs.+] [//@duckcalledsue+] |
Pseudolegion at hand
The third war for Coldforge was notable for the more active and participatory role that the Silver Stars played. For a force that had acted as the catalyst for the Partisans to engage the Imperium in a hidden civil war, they had been markedly concerned with actions behind the lines.
Nor was this simply a case of records of their actions being obscured or destroyed – for the fragmentary information we do have indicates that Orthodox High Command were fixated upon finding out what the Silver Stars' intentions were – incongruous, to say the least, if their actions were widely known.
From the very beginning of the war the False Primarch's pseudolegion, the Silver Stars, had seemingly been occupied with pursuing their own ends. With the exception of major strategic drives such as Operation Gauntlet, there seems to have been relatively little direct interference from the 'Primarch' and the Silver Stars command cadre – the Kapihe – on the actions of its allies.
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| [//Forces encountered by 44th Arcadian Rifles, Aster Alley+] [//@death_of_a_rubricist+] |
Indeed, up until the Siege of the Myrean League, after which the False Primarch's hand became more obvious in day-to-day decisions, it appears that the Kapihe were content to play a largely reactionary and supporting role to the Partisans, relying upon the belligerence and long-formented grudges of their Astartes allies to provoke assaults, before lending their support en masse.
As with the earlier wars on Coldforge, the Silver Stars were front and centre of the battle – and their dominant presence seemed to spur the Pentarchy to greater heights of aggression. Their wargear and equipment was dated – though as with much in this period, the results of its use varied from drawback to advantage. With as much respect as Mark II plate was given as a symbol, its personal protective properties were objectively inferior to the Armourum Impetor being used by the Death Eagles, for example.
Conversely, the Silver Stars' vox rites and halo-communicators easily thwarted the Orthodox Imperium's decryption efforts, and ensured Partisan communications were clear. Astartes of the Pentarchy adapted to this quickly, applying a simple solution during the course of the conflict: shoot the vox operator first.
It is unfortunately unknowable whether the uptick in knowledge of the Silver Stars was simply as a result of more frequent and reliable surviving records after this point; or whether the Silver Stars had achieved some form of broader goal, and could now turn to the prosecution of the war more directly.
***
Kaohi
Weep not for the sacrifices made to bring the High Lords to account. Weep instead for those who remain in the shadows of their wicked oppression.
[//Unknown Partisan soldier+]
Whatever the truth about lines of tactical command amongst the Partisans, direct theatre command by the Pseudolegion prior to the Third War seems out of character with what little we know of their modus operandi. The actions of Commander Kaohi, during his defence of Coldforge, make one of the better-documented examples of this latter phase.
As with almost all records of the Silver Stars, whether Kaohi is a personal name, honorific or rank is unclear, but there are multiple claims pointing to his participation in multiple battles during the War of the False Primarch, including the Routing of Orthodoxy forces on Teo Sentimental and the Machinedeath. It would be Coldforge, however, where his infamy would be most firmly established and the cunning of this tactics first recognised.
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| [//Kaohi and accompanying Pseudolegionaries. The use of Coldforge-pattern Mark VI plate was to become increasingly prevalent amongst the Pseudolegion from this point onwards.] [/samuel_j/@cerberus_prophet+] |
***
Master Mendicant?
Commander Kaohi’s actions on Coldforge bring up some perplexing points. Tantalising hints suggest his hand in orchestrating the War of Thousand Blades during the Sorrowful Years – a feat formerly presumed to have had the fingerprints of the False Primarch himself, owing to the complexity of coordinating so many devastating attacks at once.
The second question concerns whether he was leader of the infamous Marines Mendicant employed by the Partisans – the elusive (and possible fictional) figure known as Canticle, or whether he was working alongside this figure. A number of operations conducted by the Silver Stars during the third war for Coldforge bear hallmarks of the tactics used by the Marines Mendicant – though none of the astartes under his command appeared to bear the iconography of the unit.
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| [//Everything You Have Been Told Is A Lie+] [//@death_of_a_rubricist+] |
Inquisitiorial investigation
Efforts to determine Kaohi's position within the Partisan command structure were difficult. His title of 'Commander' is vague – and given the Pseudolegion's peculiar cant, perhaps adopted as a temporary convenience in emulation of the Riven Lords' naming scheme; adopted to help simplify communications with Partisan Guard and Skitarii forces.
There was also debate on whether he was a participant or member of the Kapihe, the Primarch’s inner circle of advisors, or not. Decrypted vox channels have only added more confusion, as the few intercepted conversations between himself and individuals such as Riverhead or Quaestor Maka’ala indicate no sense of seniority between one or the other. Inquisitor Fung of the Ordo Pacificius even questioned whether Kaohi was a Silver Star at all; instead positing he might be a member of another of the Partisan chapters – both the surviving Firebreak and Inheritors by this point frequently went to war in Pseudolegion iconography.
As to whether or not Commander Kaohi was present in other conflicts is hard to say. Vox broadcasts voiced by Kaohi suggest he either led or participated in a number of battles including Ishim, Null, and Teo-Sentimental among others – but this must be taken cum grano salis as these vox broadcast channels were used for propaganda purposes to bolster Partisan sympathies and demoralize Orthodoxy forces.
Despite claiming otherwise he can only be reasonably confirmed as fighting on Coldforge, wearing the finest artificer Mark VI armor available from the planet’s forges. This was presumably secured prior to the First War – a thought, incidentally, which further brings into question the reliability of the timelines.
For the Inquisition, Kaohi was considered a high value target by the Orthodoxy, with orders for his kill or capture on sight – and likewise Inquisitors with Partisan sympathies were keen to ensure his survival. Inquisitorial efforts to remove Kaohi on Coldforge were to prove unconfirmed.
[//pseudolegionary – ____ __ _____+]
[//@death_of_a_rubricist+]
***
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| [//pseudolegionary – ____ __ _____+] [//@death_of_a_rubricist+] |
Conflict and resolution
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| [//+______ ____ ________ __ ______+] [//@death_of_a_rubricist+] |
Tasked with fighting off the massed hordes of Astra Militarum and Frateris militia sent to Coldforge, Kaohi was able to make great use of defense in depth tactics and asymmetrical warfare to maximize the efficacy of the small but battle-hardened and well-equipped Silver Stars Astartes under his command; and to properly integrate the Riven Lords' Polemarch regiments to stymie the Red Talons and Death Eagles.
The fighting – as typical of Astartes warfare – was relatively brief, with just twelve weeks between Dwimmerlock's forces making landfall and the last recorded atomic detonation at the Ankoral Bastion.
Assassination of command elements, destruction of armored assets, and elimination of specialist units were the trademarks that became associated with this conflict. With the ultimate fate of the planet seemingly in little doubt, the Silver Stars regarded territory held here as little measure of success – though ground claimed by the Orthodoxy would quickly come under enfilading artillery and small fire-team fire following Partisan counter-attacks.
Kaohi and his men became a thorn for Orthodox forces attempting to engage the larger Polemarch-led Regimens as small teams of Silver Stars held up entire companies of guardsmen and disrupted armour column advances. Lone Partisan marines would wait in ambush before striking down officers and gunners before disappearing in the rubble.
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| [//Frigor Praeventos was but one of many military units raised by the Adeptus Mechanicus upon Coldforge during the third war. While not blessed and truly raised up by the Machine God like the sacred Skitarii, they mainly saw action as defenders of the myriad of factorums and other facilities threatened by the raging destruction wrought by the Adeptus Astartes of both factions. Pictured here is Commander Fostas Girg in the ash-wastes of Factorum Diesod following bombardment by the Star Warden artillery.+] [//@itinerantsimon+] |
For the Cordesh Cavalry regiments tasked with pushing his sector, Kaohi would prove a nightmare. Their tanks were isolated and destroyed by Partisan anti-tank teams and successful demolition attempts that saw ruined buildings collapsing over armored columns. What should have been a quick operation delved into an attritional slog that saw guardsmen casualties in the thousands and minimal losses for the Partisans. The experience of the Orthodox soldiery is well summed-up in the following extract from the Dookhan Codex:
'While the Death Eagles and Red Talons took the fight to the Riven Lords and their dogs, we faced Kaohi and his Silver Stars. In all I estimate he commanded little more than a Company of Astartes, plus perhaps the same again of allies; but by the Throne he made us bleed.'
[//Kolnol Marcenos, Cordesh 18th Cavalry, on Kaohi+]
***
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| [//Dreadnoughts occupied a peculiar place within the Death Eagles' organisation; their inclusion in the Canon raising a number of theological and doctrinal arguments within the Chapter cult – all of which were prorogued during the crisis of the War of the False Primarch. +] [//nick_c/@jager262/themodellingedge+] |
Specific details of the fighting are regrettably minimal in the Dookhan Codex, with the fighting around the critical Dundregh and Diesod regions simply remarked upon as 'fierce' – clearly an understatement as more than 24,000 lives were lost over the course of the three-month period – but the overall character of the war was one of an apparently successful initial blitz blunted by feigned retreat into pre-prepared positions.
Dwimmerlock was too canny to be drawn into such an obvious trap, and instead ordered orbital forces to pin down the Silver Stars within the extended sprawl of Ankoral City while the Red Talons moved to catch them in a pincer.
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| [//A Razorback supports Red Talons regular forces as they respond to losses in the Glean Straits. The STC had only recently been recovered by Chief Artisan Tilvius at this point, and proved to be notably effective against the opposing Partisan armour. +] [//@duckcalledsue+] |
Resourceful and surprisingly adaptive Kaohi and the Pseudolegion proved themselves to be, they were only partially successful in their aims – due both to Dwimmerlock's capable leadership and personal example, certainly, but also owing a great deal to the Pentarchy's ace in the hole, a secretive and specialist Red Talons battalion.
Chapter Command would refer to these elements as 'The Honoured Dead', though references to the 'Walking Men of Bodt', and the 'Raiders of Xana' were also subsequently recorded by Enoch's agents. The euphemistic and clandestine manner in which this detachment was referred to in Orthodox channels, and its isolated deployment, raised little notice amongst the Pentarchy or broader Orthodoxy at this point, for the Red Talons had ever been unforthcoming.
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| [//Honoured Dead Sotoka; member of the expanded 7th company Red Talons, recorded victim of the Istvaan atrocity and former member of Clan Ungavarr. Sotoka's death would be recorded four times in the Coldforge warzone, yet he would reappear in several redeployment rosters after each demise.+] [//@count.hodo+] |
An estimated two-thirds of the Red Talon's deployed forces – claimed to be some 2,500 Astartes, but in all likelihood closer to a tenth of that number – were painted in the original heraldic scheme of Clan Morragul of the Chapter's parent-Legion: a greasy black steel discoloured by heat and ancillary heraldic elements of red and white. The Honoured Dead displayed a physiological resilience and strength far in excess of even Astartes physiology, yet they also appeared slower and more ponderous; more prone to bouts of flint-eyed aggression when deployed.
Likely assumed by their allies to be an honour company or a ruse de guerre, by the end of the campaign it had become apparent that these individuals were primarily Gholam constructs. Who commanded them was unclear, for their comm-bands were seemingly barred even to Dwimmerlock himself.
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| [//Govvan Volk 8th Company Captain Red Talons+] [//@martycarcosa+] |
Since the death of Autek Mor, the Red Talons had seemingly entered a period of mourning – or at least its analogue. They had made no communiqués beyond those reports that duty demanded, and there seemed no clear successor in mind. Volk of the 8th Company was the most senior Captain recorded as present, but his commands and actions seemed confined to his own Assault Company, rather than more expansive. It was not 'til the events of the Fall of Icathus that this mystery would be unfurled.
***
The Beginning of the End
After twelve weeks, what little could be salvaged from the surface had been smuggled away, and a series of short launches braved the gauntlet as starships from the Riven Lords and Void Barons engaged the Death Eagles blockade.
 | |
| [//The fall of the Ankoral Bastion marked the collapse of organised Partisan resistance.+] [//nathan_s/@natedungeon+] |
As the last meaningful resistance fell with the utter destruction of the crucial Ankoral-Omega District, the fallout ensured the events of this fell and dismal war would be permanently occluded.
The wars for Coldforge were at an end. What remained was of little worth; a once-prosperous Forgeworld ground to nothingness. For the Pentarchy and Partisans, however, this drawn-out series of conflicts merely marked the beginning of the crucial stage of the war.
Coldforge had lost its role as staging post, but also no longer stood as a gate to the Myrean League. The Storm Tyrants' near-impregnable Calydon Fortress-System – the best route into and out of the Shieldworlds – was intact, but this offered the Pentarchy a flanking approach.
At last the False Primarch had gone to ground; seemingly determined to make a stand in the Myrean League Shieldworlds. Victory there would likely demonstrate – as far as was necessary – what the shape of the Imperium would be in the future.
Lines had been drawn; weapons polished and shields set. The end of the war was at hand.
***
[//Cold. Forge. Rose of the. Pentarchy +]
[//almir_h/@count.hodo+]
Better crippled in body than corrupt in mind.