Grey Knights

Inquisition Portal Ordo Malleus

The Grey Knights are a Space Marines Chapter and the Chamber Militant for the Ordo Malleus. The Chapter specializes in the hunting and extermination of Chaos Daemons.

General

Grey Knights Founding Chapter: Unknown (gene-seed rumored to come from the Emperor himself) Founding: Second Founding*7 Descendants: Exorcists*9 Chapter Master: Supreme Grand Master Kaldor Draigo *10 Pg. 12, 38-39 Homeworld: Titan Fortress-Monastery: Unknown Colours: Steel-grey Specialty: Combating daemons and Chaos Strength: ~1000 *10 Pg. 12 Battle Cry "We are the hammer!" - "I am the hammer, I am the right hand of the Emperor, the instrument of His will, the gauntlet about His fist, the tip of His spear, the edge of His sword." (Also common to yell prayers of hatred)

Grey Knights

The Grey Knights are the legendary Chapter 666 - and although nominally a Chapter of the Astartes, they are in the chamber militant of the Inquisition.*^{10 Pg. 7, 44} Each member of the chapter undergoes a gruelling and torturous selection process, and even once inducted, their harsh training regime is without equal. In battle, they move as an army of silver ghosts, surrounded by awe, and equipped to the teeth to deal with the worst foes that Chaos can raise to meet them.

To battle such enemies as Daemons, creatures that are not of this realm but formed of sorcery and madness, a Grey Knight must embrace the power of the Warp to battle a Daemon with its own weapons. Each Grey Knight is an accomplished, powerful psyker whose psychic presence is anathema to creatures of the Warp. They are trained to channel their psychic energies into a halo of protective wards known as the Aegis. Thusly armoured, a Grey Knight's presence becomes unpalatable to Daemons, making him immune to corruption, able to wield forbidden black magic, harness tainted artefacts and scour blasphemous tomes all without risk of being overwhelmed by the cursed power of Chaos.^{10 p. 7}

The Grey Knights hold a unique honour among the chapters of the Adeptus Astartes - in over ten thousand years of service, not a single one of their number has ever defected to Chaos.

Their armour is left unpainted, leaving the silver-grey of the ceramite exposed. This tradition is thought to have originated from their desire to lead lives of absolute purity. Upon achieving the rank of Justicar one may display their personal heraldry on a shield on their shoulder. In contrast to this their armour is highly decorated, encrusted with protective symbols and engraved litanies⁵.

Origins

Grey Knights during the chapter's early conception

Much of the Grey Knights history remains in mystery and secrecy or has been purposefully removed from archives. However according to legend, the Grey Knights began as a project during the final days of the Horus Heresy. The Emperor foresaw that the Heresy would likely end at such a great personal cost to himself that he would be prevented from actively defending mankind from the great threat of Chaos and its Daemons. So the Emperor set in motion a plan to form a defence against such evil. Malcador the Sigilite, closest of the Emperor's servants, was sent to search across the Imperium for men suitable to rise to such a burden.^{10 p.6-7}

Malcdor found twelve worthy champions; four were lords and administrators, and eight were Space Marines, some hailing from Legions that had turned traitor. The Emperor surveyed the chosen recruits and granted his approval and consent to proceed with the project. So the recruits split ways to go off towards separate tasks; the four lords ventured off to lay the framework of the Inquisition, whilst the Space Marines and Malcador traveled to Saturn's moon of Titan.^{10 p.6-7}

Titan, through Malcador's sorcerous means, had been hidden away from the ravages of the Horus Heresy. When they arrived they found a Fortress Monastery already fully prepared and stocked with everything necessary to create a new army of Space Marines including supplies of gene-seed, which is suspected to have been taken from the Emperor directly, and all the necessary armaments. The fortress was also already populated with hundreds upon hundreds of suitable recruits from across the Galaxy. Some were raw and untrained, whilst others were selected in secret from among the ranks of loyalist Legions. This new army would be a Chapter - a smaller, tighter brotherhood of Space Marines than a Legion. Malcador could no longer remain and thus he appointed Janus, one of the eight original Space Marines, to be the Grey Knights leader and take the title of Supreme Grand Master. Before leaving, Malcador cast his greatest enchantment yet; he hid Titan away from Horus in the most unlikely of places, inside the Warp itself. Titan was protected by Macro-Geller fields and sigilic rites whilst the final battles of the Heresy took place in Real Space.^{10 p.6-7}

When Titan eventually returned, the Second Founding was taking place. Whilst in the warp, time had passed at a greater rate for Titan and so it had emerged not with the original eight Space Marines and their raw recruits, but with a full Chapter of one thousand fully trained Battle-Brothers. The Second Founding was being directed by the newly formed Inquisition under the control of the same lords who Malcador had selected years before. So they secretly included the Grey Knights amongst the growing list of new Chapters, designating them Chapter 666, despite there being barely 400 Chapters commissioned at the time. The Grey Knights, different from all the other new Chapters, were embedded within the Inquisition to serve as the Chamber Militant of the Ordo Malleus to fight against all things Daemonic.^{10 p.6-7}

Organization

Most of the Chapter's strength is spread through the Imperium, ensuring that the fighting skills of the Grey Knights can be quickly called upon by the Ordo Malleus wherever a daemonic incursion may occur. These small forces are often stationed thousands of light years from their fortress-monastery for decades at a time, and are usually organised into small teams that have trained and fought together for their entire lives.

Recruitment

Considering the role of the Grey Knights, potential recruits are put through even more stringent trials than other Space Marine Neophytes. Unlike most Space Marine Chapters, the Grey Knight recruits are drawn directly from the Black Ships after they return to Terra they are then brought to Titan for testing.⁷ The most advanced bio-engineering and psycho-surgery available is utilised to condition the Neophytes, and each recruit must pass the six hundred and sixty six Rituals of Detestation, to prove that he is capable of withstanding horrors that would break even the greatest of 'normal' Space Marines. Upon success, the recruit also has the majority of their memories and personality erased¹, to better ensure their absolute and unwavering loyalty to the Emperor. One of the main criteria for selection is that the recruit must show great psychic potential, as the entire Chapter is made up of psykers. Once accepted into the chapter and undergoing the standard process to transform into a member of the Adeptus Astartes, the new Grey Knight is also implanted with silver purity wards under his skin which cover his entire body.

During training each recruit is designated a number to be referred by, and only upon completion of training are they given a new name; they must discard their original birth name and be given a new one. This is in part to signify being reborn, but also in part because the training a recruit undergoes is so intense that they are unlikely to remember their past and original name anyway. Furthermore, each Grey Knight name is actually a fragment of magical lore that acts in perfect opposition to the true name of a particular Daemon, making even a Grey Knight's name a deadly weapon.^{10 p.6}

Homeworld

The fortress-monastery of the Grey Knights is based on Saturn's largest moon, Titan, and is carved entirely of basalt. Within the fortress hang pennants, banners and flags commemorating the victories and sacrifices made by the chapter in their war against the daemonic, but none other than the Grey Knights would recognise the names of these campaigns. The chapter operates in oppressive secrecy, beyond the knowledge of the Adeptus Terra and even the High Lords - as a part of the Ordo Malleus, the Grey Knights are answerable only to the Ordo and the Emperor. Even the location of the fortress-monastery is known only to the Ordo Malleus. Titan itself is surrounded by the rings of Saturn and multiple confidential Malleus-controlled moons: Mimas, the prison and execution centre of the Ordo Malleus, Enceladus, home of the leaders of the Ordo Malleus and other influential Malleus Inquisitors, and several other worlds.

Beneath the fortress lies a cool, damp crypt. It is here that every Grey Knight wishes to finally reside, in the hallowed halls of the glorious dead. Almost every member of the chapter will have their body recovered and brought to this crypt beneath the Emperor's Temple. As a final tribute to those that have given their lives, the names of the dead are carved ceremoniously into a great basalt wall in the heart of the fortress. Among these names are some of the Imperium's greatest heroes who died in the most heroic circumstances imaginable. And like all other matters in regard to Grey Knights, they will remain almost completely unknown.

The fortress-monastery also contains the Librarium Daemonica, the Imperium's foremost repository of warp lore and daemonology. The Librarium is a forbidding place, filled with the tens of thousands of the ancient tomes of diabolic lore the Ordo Malleus has accumulated over the millennia.

Hierarchy

The hierarchy of the Grey Knights is drastically different from Codex-adherent Chapters. A council of the Chapter's Grand Masters fulfill the role of Chapter Master.

The chapter is rumoured to be almost 3,000 strong (strength of a 'normal' chapter is 1000 men, give or take), and is organized along different lines:

Chapter Lord

The highest rank attainable by a Grey Knight. Also referred to as the Supreme Grand Master, the Chapter Lord had complete authority over the chapter. However, a Grey Knight can only be appointed as the Chapter Lord upon the unanimous consent of every Grand Master, thus ensuring that an unsuitable candidate does not attain dominion over the chapter. ¹⁰

Grand Master

The Grey Knight chapter may have several Grand Masters at once, one of which is always a member of the Inner Conclave of the Inquisition. An Unmatched daemonslayer, the Grand Master wears Terminator armor and wields a powerful nemesis force weapon in battle,He is also a powerful psyker. Few Daemons have been able to stand against a Grand Master and survive. The death of such a powerful defender of the Emperor's will is always mourned by the Grey Knights and the Ordo Malleus - though never will a common citizen know of him.

Circa-equivalent rank of a Captain in other Marine chapters.

Chaplain

Grey Knights Chaplains fulfill the same functions as in other Marine chapters, albeit on a much higher level, as they have to minister to the spiritual needs of soldiers destined to fight the most horrible of foes. They are rare specimens indeed, and the Chapter has precious few of them. Yet, thanks to them, not one Grey Knight has fallen to Chaos.⁸

Brother-Captain

Second highest ranking for a Grey knight, these hardened veterans are commonly found leading the Grey Knights Terminator Squads, but can also be force commanders.

Circa-equivalent rank of a Captain/Veteran Sergeant in other Marine chapters.

Terminator

Like all Space Marine Chapters, the battle-brothers wearing Terminator armor are the elite of the Grey Knights. In addition to possessing greater armor, they also use psychic powers in combat. They also have the same special weapons options - incinerators and psycannons - as their power armor-wearing battle brothers, except all Terminators wield power weapons.

Circa-equivalent rank of a Veteran in other Marine chapters.

Justicar

Justicars are the leaders of the Battle Brothers squads, tasked with raising the latest recruits to the Grey Knights - although it should be noted that such recruits may have been fighting the Emperor's foes for up to a century. This is the first step on the path to becoming a Grand Master. Justicar is the lowest rank that can display heraldry on their Insignium Valorus.

Circa-equivalent rank of a Sergeant in other Marine chapters.

Battle Brother

The standard Grey Knight trooper. Often, battle brothers will serve in standard squads that can teleport straight into the battle or in heavy support squads known as Purgation Squads (bearing the incinerator and psycannon, weapons lethal to the daemonic).

Tactics

The Grey Knights have a special preference for the use of teleportation, or more specifically the use of deep strike technology. There is a beautiful irony in using the origin of the enemy as a means of transport, and then proceeding to purge the surrounding area of their taint.

The initial detection of daemonic infestation is left to the Inquisitors of the Ordo Malleus, but the majority of combat is wisely left to the Chamber Militant.

The Grey Knights often teleport themselves directly into combat, as near to the target as possible, in order to ensure they arrive without any unnecessary losses. Any remaining hostile forces are left to be dealt with by additional Imperial troops, usually to whom squads of Grey Knights have been assigned as a specialist division.

Specialist Equipment

Of all the armies of the Imperium, the Grey Knights can boast to have the most technologically advanced and murderously efficient weaponry under their command. This level of weaponry comes about from ancient pacts with the Adeptus Mechanicus and even some alien factions, the threat of the Daemonic considered to outweigh even considerations of race.^{10 p.7}

Nemesis Force Weapon

The characteristic weapon of the Grey Knights is the Nemesis force weapon. It can take the form of a halberd, sword, mace, axe, or the more rare hammer. It is a powerful force weapon, housing a psi-matrix attuned to the unique psyche of its owner. In original versions, the haft incorporated a bolter weapon, similar to the Adeptus Custodes guardian spear; on newer models of the Grey Knights the bolter is a wrist-mounted storm bolter, incorporated into the armour itself. Like all force weapons, the power of the weapon itself directly corresponds to the psychic talent of the wielder; as the Grey Knights are some of the greatest psykers of the Imperium, a Nemesis weapon is a truly devastating weapon.

Aegis Armour

The suits of power and Terminator armour worn by the Grey Knights are incredibly well crafted lattice of psychoconductive filaments and amulets*⁷; anointed and inscribed with prayers and wards, ritually consecrated and psychically charged. Working in tandem with the Grey Knights' formidable psychic powers, the Aegis armour protects the wearers from the effects of the Immaterium and the Daemons it spawns. The armor's ritual blessings and psychic resonance also serve to confound the perception of any enemy, resulting in an effect called the Shrouding. The psychically charged nature of the armour allows its mere presence to induce intense terror and pain in any nearby daemons and warp spawn, also loosening their grip on the material realm.

File:Grey Knight Dreadnought.jpg

Grey Knight Dreadnought

As well as its psychic properties, the armour itself incorporates a pattern of storm bolter - a rare and powerful weapon which, when combined with the skill of the Knights themselves, can be used with equal effectiveness in both ranged and melee combat. this weapon is always loaded with psychically-charged ammunition.

Insignium Valorus

Shoulder mounted shield that displays squad designation, or for higher ranking Grey Knights, personal heraldry.

Liber Daemonicum

The Grey Knight Chapter's sacred book of battle rituals. Each Grey Knight enters battle with a copy of the book displayed in a beautifully decorated ceramite case fastened to his breastplate or hanging from a chain around his neck.

Dreadnoughts and Dreadknights

Like other Space Marine Chapters, mortally wounded Grey Knights are sometimes placed within the massive battle armor known as a Dreadnought. Unlike other Chapters, however, Grey Knights do not look upon this extension of their life as an honour - all Grey Knights desire to be brought to the crypts underneath the Temple of the Emperor on Titan and laid to rest with their brothers over continuing life inside a machine. As such, Grey Knight Dreadnoughts are extremely rare.

The chapter also has access to a large suit of armour called a Nemesis Dreadknight. Designed to be able to take on a Greater Daemons hand-to-hand, this huge construct towers over even regular dreadnoughts.¹¹

Chapter fleet

Like other Space Marine chapters, the Grey Knights' primary mode of transportation is the strike cruiser class of ship that is exclusive to the chapters of the Adeptus Astartes. The Grey Knights' ships however are specially modified in several ways. One is the hexagrammic and anti-daemonic wards that are built into the entire ship from bridge to landing struts and every bulkhead in between, similar to those that are placed under the skin of the Grey Knights themselves that lend the ship added protection from the forces of Chaos. Also, the Grey Knights' strike cruisers are equipped with significantly more advanced armour than the ships of other chapters. This is to allow them to close with more powerful foes and reach their destination safely since the Grey Knights have to fight more powerful enemies than the standard Adeptus Astartes chapters. Finally, the landing and drop pod bays are enlarged to be able to deploy larger numbers of marines faster.

The modifications to their ships are made possible by two factors. The first is their fortress monastery's location in the rings of Saturn, its close proximity to Mars, the greatest forge world in the Imperium of Man, allowing access to technology that was forgotten or is impossible to replicate anywhere else in the Imperium (this could also explain the high quality of all Grey Knights equipment). The other reason is the resources that the Ordo Malleus gives the Grey Knights due to their close working relationship as the Ordo's Chamber Militant.

Heroes of the Chapter

• Grand Master Mandulis
• Grand Master Mortis
• Grand Master Tencendur
• Chaplain Durendin
• Brother-Captain Pelega
• Brother-Captain Aurellian
• Brother-Captain Stern
• Brother-Captain Karl Ruben
• Brother-Captain Ignatius
• Justicar Alaric

List of Notable Grey Knights

Justicar Tancred

Justicar Tancred fought alongside Justicar Alaric against the Daemon Prince Ghargatuloth. He carried the Nemesis Force Sword used by Grand Master Mandulis. He gave his life to behead the possessed body of Kelkannis Evisser. He was a swordmaster that had only been defeated by Brother Captain Stern.

Justicar Santoro

Served with Justicar Alaric and died at the hands of Ghargatuloth along with all of his squad.

Justicar Genhain

Served with Justicar Alaric while facing Ghargatuloth. He survived the ordeal and was later sent to join the rest of the Grey Knights in Thirteenth Black Crusade.

Brother Dvorn

Served with Justicar Alaric both facing Ghargatuloth and the Dark Adeptus. Later elevated to the ranks of Justicar and trained in the use of Terminator power armour. He was selected to join Brother Captain Stern.

Brother Haulvarn

Served with Justicar Alaric during all three of his campains. He was also captured along side Alaric and forced into gladiatorial combat on the planet Drakaasi where he was killed.

Campaigns

First War for Armageddon

A Terminator company held back the last large-scale attack of Chaos warriors but with heavy losses. Captain Aurellian banished the Daemon Prince Angron back into the Warp for one hundred years. Altogether, a bodyguard of over a dozen powerful Bloodthirster daemons and countless other minor daemons of Khorne were destroyed by the Grey Knights. Only about a dozen Grey Knights survived the conflict, but the daemonic army was completely destroyed. One notable survivor was Mandulis who would later become a Grand Master.

Other campaigns

• Thule Decimation of 728.M40³.
• Purged the Traitor Chapter Relictors and destroyed their Chapter Fortress.
• Prevented the invasion of Godjera.
• Fall of the devoted Inquisitor Gholic Ren-Sar Valinov.
• A greater Daemon-Prince, Ghargatuloth, The Prince of a Thousand Faces, and hordes of lesser daemons were discovered on Khorion IX. One-thousand years later the same greater daemon was hunted down on the Trail of Saint Evisser by the Grey Knights.
• Luxor Rebellion crushed.

Images

• 
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  early Grey Knight in Terminator armour

• 

  early Grey Knight Terminator Captain

Sources

• ¹:Grey Knights (Novel) by Ben Counter, page 67
• ²:Codex: Daemonhunters
• ³:White Dwarf 109 (UK), Terminator Squads
• ⁴:Index Astartes - Purge the Unclean; White Dwarf Issue 260 (Australian Edition)
• ⁵:John Blanche, www.tearsofenvy.com
• Warhammer 40,000: Dark Millennium (1994, for second edition), p. 22
• ⁷: The Inquisition (Background Book)
• ⁸: Grey Knights (Omnibus) by Ben Counter, page 554
• ⁹: Headhunted by Steve Parker, p.279.
• ¹⁰: Codex: Grey Knights (5th Edition)
• ¹¹: White Dwarf 376 (AUS), Nemesis Dreadknights

See also

• List of Space Marine Chapters