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This article is about the Death Guard formation; for the Necron equipment, see Death Shroud. |
The Deathshroud were the elite bodyguard unit of the Death Guard Space Marine Legion during the Great Crusade.[5a][5b]
History
Great secrecy surrounded them; they were chosen from the rank-and-file of the Death Guard by their Primarch, Mortarion, personally for their skill at arms, fearlessness and proven endurance - often being the sole survivor when the rest of their squad has perished.[5b] Their identities were a mystery, since, after being inducted into the Deathshroud, they never spoke, never removed their helmets even in death, and were officially listed as being killed in action.[1a]
Deathshroud bodyguards were clad in highly artificed Terminator armour that gave them a tall and barrel-chested appearance and they were armed with hand flamers with chem-munitions and like their master, they wielded large power scythes known as Manreapers. They never strayed more than 49 paces from their Primarch.[1a][5b] An intimidating presence, they were capable of achieving a uniformity so perfect that when at rest they gave the impression of grand statues, and when in motion, of mechanical automatons.[1c] Mortarion was customarily attended by two Deathshroud at any one time, but there may have been more.[1a][1b]
Deathshroud accompanied their lord to the Jorgall cylinder world during the Death Guard's assault on the Xenos starship.[1b]
Before an attack on the Knight world of Molech, Mortarion killed all seven of his Deathshroud bodyguards with a single stroke of his Manreaper Silence inside the gene-vault aboard his flagship "Endurance" in order to feed the emerging daemon essence of Ignatius Grulgor, killed on Isstvan III by the the Life-eater virus.[4]
As a Daemon Prince of Nurgle, Mortarion was still accompanied by his Deathshroud ten thousand years later, notably when he confronted the Grey Knights at the Battle of Kornovin.[3]
Notable Deathshroud Members
Images
See also
Sources
- 1: The Flight of the Eisenstein (Novel) by James Swallow
- 2: Forgeworld
- 3: Codex: Grey Knights (5th Edition), pg. 15
- 4: Vengeful Spirit (Novel), [Needs Citation], pgs. 163-171
- 5: The Horus Heresy Book One - Betrayal
