Kith
The Kith were a Chaos cult devoted to Khorne, under the leadership of Magister Sholen Skara, encountered by the Imperial forces during the Sabbat Worlds Crusade.[1]
In the words of Colonel-Commissar Ibram Gaunt, "[Skara] worships death. He believes it to be the ultimate expression of the Chaotic will.... He kills to serve Chaos. Any death serves him."[1] Imperial Tactician Antonid Biota, in his history of the Crusade, noted that, although vicious in combat, the Kith displayed none of the organization and battlefield discipline that made the Blood Pact such an effective fighting force.[2d]
Without guidance, the Kith typically disperse their time between the idle practice of torture, mutilation and murder and resting out of sheer exhaustion and typically use mob tactics. In the presence of command figures however, the Kith can to achieve singularity of purpose and a spiritual discipline that gives the appearance of rank and file organisation, despite the fact they simply felt the presence of the Blood God in their hearts, filling them with a sacrificial urge so powerful that they might end their own lives in unison to appease the whims of the monstrous power’s mortal prophets.[3]
After being routed by the Imperial victory at the Battle of Balhaut, Skara and his cult escaped that planet and took refuge on Sapiencia, where they occupied the primary settlement, Oskray Island, and slaughtered the entire population of the manufactory cities.[1]
The Kith were wiped out by a chance occurrence during the Imperial effort to retake Sapiencia. Although the planned amphibious landing went badly wrong, a small force of Guardsmen, led by Tanith First Trooper Dermon Caffran, infiltrated the manufactory complex and collapsed the tower they were escaping from with explosives. This was an act of desperation, to delay the Kith patrol pursuing them, but the explosion tricked Skara into believing that his stronghold had fallen. True to their philosophy, Skara gave the order for all his troops to kill themselves, which was duly carried out, though Skara was captured alive.[1]
Despite their loss on Sapiencia, pockets of Kith are still active or in hiding in various parts of the galaxy. Prior to Balhaut, Lord General Bulledin had Skara and his forces engaged in a fighting retreat from Sverren, through the Valens 160 region, where they briefly landed and held off the Lord General before regrouping on Balhaut. During this engagement, Skara seeded the Hive population with some of his lieutenants to ensure his cults continuation. They succeeded in killing or subverting most of the population and abetted in Skara's escape from Inquisition custody before the Warlord was killed by a squad of Iron Snakes [3]
Notable Engagements
Related Articles
Sources
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- 1: Ghostmaker (Novel), Chapter Nine
- 2: The Sabbat Worlds Crusade (Background Book)
- 2a: Phase Two, pg. 34
- 2b: Phase Three, pg. 43
- 2c: Phase Four pg. 65
- 2d: [Needs Citation]
- 3: The Blood Bound (Short Story) - Sabbat Crusade (Anthology)
