“We need only be afraid, we need not die, we need only live in the dark and be afraid”

Slaughter Prophet of Renfrano

“Celdario Veltrazzi, of vile witchcraft, great heresy and filthy treason, I find thee guilty”

Chaplain Viribus upon charge and execution of Governor Veltrazzi

THE STORY SO FAR…

Settled in M38.567 by an Imperial Rogue Trader by the name of Ifreagor Velterazzi, Ifreagor was once a prosperous colony world. 

Geographically, the planet has a northern plate and a southern plate, creating a ring of mountain and volcano around the world’s equator. Much of this is below sea level, though some volcanic islands dot the ring of the equator. Landmasses arise at the North and South poles, far enough from the volcanic activity to allow for life air conditions. The wind currents of the planet tend to keep the sulphuric gas clouds from obscuring the light of the planet’s sun, Gorfear.

Due to the tilt of the planet’s axis and the polar settlements, the inhabitants of Ifreagor experience permanent night during the winter and permanent day during the summer.

With no complicated life forms to contend with, the settlers thrived and soon after settlement, cities arose at the two poles. The Velterazzi’s maintained contact between their holdings by way of their cruiser, The Shining Knife.

The Velterazzi’s carried with them a significant number of confessors and Ecclesiarchal attendants. When cities arose these church men and women were given prominent sites for the development of churches and cathedra to the most holy Emperor of mankind. Judgement fearing citizenry made for an excellent working class. The Velterazzi’s were not afraid to suggest that an infringement of the law could damn the soul. 

A millenia passed before the arrival of the first black ships to Ifreagor. The Imperial Tithe was set low and passed without much incident. The Velterazzi’s proved effective rulers and secured their hold on the planet. 5 regiments of Ifreagorite Condottiero’s were founded and shipped off planet.

Ifreagor developed into a civilised and religious colony world. As can be a danger in the development of the religious element of society, the population became superstitious, conjuring bogeymen, monsters and wicked beings in their stories. These enemies were said to live on volcanic islands, below the ocean or even in the clouds. Their described shape, size and danger varied wildly. Abilities included shapeshifting, clawed attack, poisonous breath and possession. The confessors of the Imperial Creed sometimes punished the spreading of these tales and at other times encouraged it. Nothing focuses the mind quite like an enemy after all.

Disaster struck Ifreagor in M41.666, when the astropath aboard The Shining Knife succumbed to possession from a malevolent warp entity. The astropath contorted and split into a leering tear into the warp. Daemons entered the ship and a battle ensued that claimed the lives of all but one of the Velterazzi family. As the fighting raged, Celdario Velterazzi, sixth son of the governor, escaped to the planet’s southern pole. The defenders of the ship, unable to defeat their daemonic foes and unwilling to give up the ship, decided to steer for the surface. The Shining Knife was plunged into Mount Defedario, the planet’s most active and largest volcano, destroying the ship and causing a vast volcanic explosion.

The massive volcanic explosion produced a surge in gas and ash that breached the protections usually offered by wind currents, darkening the entire planet. This was felt worst in the north where winter had just set in.

Without The Shining Knife, Ifreagor’s poles were cut off from each other. In the north the Ecclesiarchal hierarchy took control. Religious emphasis led to a growth in the superstitious fears of the populace. The lack of political governance exacerbated the dark season’s spike in criminality. As the local law enforcement struggled to keep up, petty churchmen saw opportunities to advance their own agendas. Crimes were attributed to the supernatural instead of the banal. Enemies within the church accused each other of witchcraft and sorcery. Mobs were formed. Lynching’s started out first quietly but progressively became more overt. Preachers rose in power by their ability to sway the frightened crowds and equally fell prey to their inability to bring true safety, cast down by the next in the line of fiery orators.

A small child was found murdered in its bedroom, the wounds consistent with a savage fanged or clawed beast. Whether it was a misinterpreted crime, an accident or a genuine supernatural event was unknown. The facts of the matter were immediately obscured and lost. The populace reacted with panic. Their nightmares walked among them. The creatures of claw and shadow stalked the dark. Death waited around every corner, under every shade, beyond every door. 

The hysteria that followed tore society apart. Thousands died in the confusion. Confessors were sacrificed to appease monsters in the dark. 

The swell of terror rippled in the warp, sucking in energy and attracting nearby warp fiends. Malicious entities fed off the fear of the populace and clawed at the minds of the weak. Where or when the first daemon made the crossing is unclear but what is certain is that if the people of the north were mistaken in their fears at the beginning of their fall, they were not mistaken in the end. Shadowy clawed figures stalked the permanent dark. Many thousands more were slaughtered. 

The carnage was only stabilised when Frater Lorica Terravuto gathered enough followers to his cause. Beneath the surface of the main city, Renfrano, he founded the Order of the Emperor’s flame. He had discovered that the creatures could not stand firelight, something he had stumbled upon when fleeing into a small chapel lit only by candle. Using the underground sub-tram system, he travelled the city collecting followers. The Order of the Emperor’s flame gave the Ifreagorites of the north hope. With their fear diminishing the daemons were driven back.

Losing their grip on reality the daemonic entities were forced to work together if they were to maintain control. Four daemons, known as the “Tall Ones”, identified a psychically gifted mind among the people. They lured the psyker away from its conclave of survivors. The “Tall Ones” ambushed the psyker, tortured him unrelentingly, but did not kill him. The pain and fear of the psyker attracted dark creatures from all over Renfrano. As they arrived to the torture the “tall ones”, swelled on the strength of the psyker’s energy, attacked and consumed the lesser entities. This continued for weeks.

The Order of the Emperor’s flame grew bold, believing their prayers were answered and the creatures of the dark almost defeated. Frater Lorica saw fit to retake the city’s largest cathedral, the Basilica of the Emperor Eternal. He led a vast procession from the underground to the streets. Frater Lorica entered the Basilica, his followers festooned with candles and torches

He was greeted by the psyker, an emaciated shell of a man. As Frater Lorica approached, the psyker began to whisper;

We need only be afraid, we need not die, only live in the dark and be afraid

Lorica replied, Come friend, there is no need to be afraid. We have light, we can drive back the dark.

At that, a mighty wind arose and screeched through the Basilica. The candles of the procession started to extinguish, those whose candles went out panicked. As fear rose, so too did the wind extinguishing yet more candles. From the darkness behind the altar strode the “Tall Ones”. They stretched to the height of the cathedral ceiling, a hundred feet at least. Frater Lorica held her torch against their advance.

Vile daemons, begone!

The “Tall Ones” made no reply. The first reached down and closed its fist on his torch, extinguishing it. Fear broke upon the procession like never before. The “Tall Ones” released their full power and swept aside every light before them. The Order of the Emperor’s flame collapsed, the “Tall Ones” massacred thousands. Many thousands more fled back to their hiding places in the sub-tram tunnels. Frater Lorica Terravuto was never seen again, her fate only speculated at, by those whose minds truly have sunk to despair.

In the years that followed the psyker, known to the locals as the Slaughterprophet, visited almost every enclave of Ifreagorites that lived in the city. He preached that they should stay afraid, push out those that spoke against the life of fear, and they would live. They need not be unhappy. Fear of the dark and sacrifice of the brave would keep the “Tall Ones” at bay. A cult of fear took hold, the “Tall Ones” became small deities of their darkened world.

In the south a different story unfolded. The permanent daylight of summer meant the ash and gas clouds from Mount Defedario dimmed the days but did not plunge the southern cities into pitch darkness. Celdario Velterazzi landed in the city of Yandanda. Unable to communicate with the north, Celdario consolidated his control of the south. He declared a monthly festival of light and openness to oppose the darkness. The Southern Ecclesiarchy joined in with his preparations. The festival provided distraction and hope to the uneasy people. The hosting of the festival would travel from city to city starting with Yandanda, then moving to Arlahatro, then Udine. The travelling festival created a friendly rivalry between the cities, each seeking to outstrip the last with shows of lights, fire and spectacles of theatre.

The theatrical performances, which centred thematically on openness, pushed the boundaries of what was acceptable or taboo in society. Celdario encouraged the revealing of secrets and rewarded those who came forward. He crafted a society built on transparency and acceptance. As more and more became acceptable, however, voices within the Ecclesiarchy started to voice concern for the moral virtue of the citizenry. The honesty of society was impressive, they agreed, but the acceptance of actions troubled them, surely transgression of rules must be punished. Celdario argued that punishment simply drove miscreants into the dark where their secrets festered and rotted. Acceptance would destroy the allure of the forbidden. 

The cities’ friendly rivalry slowly transformed into bitter competition. The festivals grew ever more extravagant and it became apparent that the allure of the forbidden was not what stood at the heart of debauchery on Ifreagor. Every form of taboo, shocking and shameful action became fair game for the spectacles. The sexual displays and substance experiences were quickly moved through towards shows displaying cruelty, torture and death.

The Ecclesiarchy bided its time and marshalled its followers in secret. Generations passed and they did not fail to notice that Celdario Velterazzi did not age, if anything he grew in vigour with every passing year. They sent messages in secret out into the void and prayed that when deliverance came, they would be holding the blades.

As the 41st millennium drew to a close the opening of the Great Rift brought destruction to the Emperor’s faithful on Ifreagor. The 344th Festival of Light and Openness saw Celdario summon Slaanesh to reveal to them who now among their number held secrets. Sacrificing 666 virgin youths he created a warp gate wide enough for Slaanesh’s legions to come forth. Mounted Daemonettes galloped through the streets seeking out and slaying the followers of the Ecclesiarchy.

They were followed by Heretic Astartes. Emperor’s children of the Phoenicians Surgeons warband. They arrived with a mission from Slaanesh itself, to defeat the “Tall Ones”, in the north, so that Slaanesh could absorb their energies and gain the novel form of fear they had carved out on Ifreagor. When the Warlord Mechlorion stepped through the warpgate onto the planet, he was greeted by Celdario as a guest of honour.

Preparations were made for the invasion of the north. The Slaaneshi warriors had no idea what form the enemy would take or what their capabilities were, but were confident the favour of their master would overcome any foe.

With Warp energy flowing freely into the world it would not be long before Ifreagor became irrevocably corrupted and turned to a Daemon World.

As the warp storms from the great rift recede, however, not every candle in the north has gone out nor is every secret in the south revealed. For those who hold out for the Emperor’s light, Redemption comes from the heavens.

The Redemption Crusade’s arrival to Ifreagor’s orbit gave the last remaining Ecclesiarchal loyalists on the planet hope. Their hope was misplaced, misguided or both as the Crusade’s first attempt at landfall was dashed by the Emperor’s Children holding the Southern Continent. The Black Templars’ zeal and hatred of their fallen brethren was not enough to carry a direct assault to success.

Matters were made worse for the Emperor’s faithful by the deterioration of the situation on the Northern continent. Malkor, Master of the Undying Flesh, Plague caster of Nurgle, travelled to this continent. In the darkness he found the cults of fear built around worship of the “Tall Ones”. The cults pushed out the brave to be savaged by the Daemonic entities ruling the land and their fear fed those same entities. It was a simple Chaos worship, something that Malkor could appreciate, and he admired those non-aligned entities for assuming control of a populace in such a way. In it, Malkor saw an opportunity to supplant those creatures as the ruler of these cowed people. In the darkness of the sub-tram system, Malkor and the four Unfallen with him, travelled from station settlement to station settlement, preaching a new creed.

All across the continent people turned to the salvation offered by Malkor. Their hopes were realised when the first to receive the “blessings” of Nurgle were savaged by the “Tall Ones”. The Plague infected men and women indeed rose again in Nurgle’s image, as plague zombies. The practice of sacrificing the brave now worked against the “Tall Ones” for their cult had no one to stand against or dispute the creed of Malkor. As cultists flocked to receive the protections of Nurgle, the power of the “Tall Ones” waned. They were forced to seek out and attempt to kill Malkor.

The fateful confrontation came in the cavernous surrounds of Idrio Centrale, the main station of the sub-tram network. Here the Slaughterprophet heralded the arrival of the “Tall Ones” to Malkor and four of the Unfallen, Malkor’s chosen champions.

The triumph of Malkor over the “Tall Ones” left him the undisputed ruler of the Northern continent and once more at the head of a significant cultist and zombie army. His ascension would not go unnoticed by either the Redemption Crusade or The Phoenician’s Surgeons.

Shortly after Malkor’s ascension, those few faithful to the Emperor’s cause left on Ifreagor from both North and South began to hear a voice calling them to salvation. It desired the faithful to make a place that is safe for the Crusade to land so that the work of the one true ruler of the Galaxy could proceed. From their dark tunnels and hidden chambers the faithful began moving towards the call of this voice. Across both continents pockets of the faithful encountered messengers claiming to be from the Lord of the Galaxy. The messengers came as triplets. The faithful were guided to the archipelago around Mount Defedario. Here, they met Fash’Hohne’rava, the leader of the triplet messengers. He instructed the faithful in the building of defences, landing zones and quarters for the coming Crusaders. When all was as he instructed the faithful attempted contact with the Crusade ships above.

The Templars fell back to their landing site. Marshall Atreus ordered a general retreat from Ifreagor. The planet was lost and he did not have the resources to either stem the tide or carry out exterminatus. This failure would be a stain on the Redemption Crusade, one that would require significant holy work to expunge. 

Whether Chaplain Viribus made it back to the Templar ships before they departed was unknown at this point. His disappearance in the battle with the Death Guard was neither noted nor explained in any official reports.

Following the Death Guard’s victory over the Black Templars any intention to explore the Islands of the Defedario Archipelago were truncated by the apparent eruption of the Volcano. Malkor led his Plague forces away from the eruption and toward the South. He wished to meet and talk with the leader of the Slaaneshi cult that dominated life in the South.

Upon arrival, Malkor was greeted as a guest of great esteem by the Pleasure seeking Celdario Velterazzi. The Plague sorcerer was brought to the palace in Yandanda and offered every delicacy and delight that the Southern continent could muster. Malkor was unimpressed by these displays but humoured his host for a time. Celdario was awaiting a third leader to join their talks.

Whether Malkor was surprised by the arrival of an emissary from a Tzeentchian cult on planet was not evident, however it could not be doubted that he was a little perturbed by the development. Celdario took great joy in watching the traditional Chaos rivals interact.

It would not be long before Velterazzi’s desire for violence would be fulfilled. After the departure of the attendees, a different meeting was convened, one of a far more judgemental nature.

In the North, the Unfallen moved forward with Malkor’s vision for a continent of pestilence. In the capitol, Renfrano, they began work on two large projects. First, Uruk, Ur and Kutha crafted a great cauldron in the Gerantine slums. Into the cauldron they poured their waste, burst their boils and oozed the poisons from their bodies. Into the mix they added the dead, the decomposing corpses providing viscous volume to the pot of illness.

Meanwhile, Nippur, the Singer of Songs, travelled to the Carathan district for a special assignment given to him by Malkor. He chose a clear space between Carathan and Ostrogano and began a song. First low and mournful, rising to a shrill tune that carried across the city. All over the metropolis the shambling zombies creaked their stiffened necks in the direction of the song. Slowly they started to shamble once more, though now it was towards the Carathan clearing. As they went, they picked up anything that rotted, food, bodies, wilting flora. All became gifts for the singer, the enchanter of the undead. Slowly but surely a mound of decay was erected around Nippur. As the Undead continued to pile up their gifts, the singer clambered to the top of the pile, always continuing his sickly sweet tune.

Across hours, days and weeks the zombified residents of Renfrano heaped their gifts. In the heart of the mound the corpses degenerated into a soup that stewed and bubbled. On the seventh week of singing and rotting the inside of the mound started to swirl as though draining away. It did not drain though, simply swirled in an endless viscous gloop. At the edges of the swirling pool blistered hands emerged, grasping the bodies around. The hands heaved and Plague Bearers of Nurgle surfaced, dragging themselves from Nurgle’s garden. They pushed through the body mound and wriggled free, like maggots growing in a wound, gorging themselves on rotted flesh. 

Ifreagor now was truly doomed. With rents in reality at both the North and South poles and daemons of Slaanesh and Nurgle entering realspace freely, it would take a sainted miracle to save the world from its warped fate.

And yet, a sliver of hope remained for the planet to retain its place in the material realm. The path was narrow, but one who could foresee the skeins of fate walked the surface of Ifreagor. Farseer Ahzuko had come to Ifreagor to hunt the Daemon Prince Sozaiyin. Seeing the Chaotic state of the planet he was on the cusp of leaving only that he sensed the actions of Viribus. In this mighty Space Marine, Ahzuko saw the chance to save this planet and the denial of such a prize to Chaos was a worthy cause to the wandering Farseer.