The Everblight Vectorium
Requiem Est - the story of a ship
Every ship that sails the darkness between the stars carries its own history. A legacy of all the things it has experienced and accomplished. Whether you call this essence The machine spirit or the ship’s soul all these things are ingrained into the ship giving it its unique character.
This is the story of the battle cruiser Requiem Est and how far it has fallen. Born at the height of the Age of Apostasy it was christened Almirel’s Fury as it would carry the Fraternis Templars as they protected the Ecclesiarchy and its move back to the dusty halls on Terra.
Almirel was a rash and bloodthirsty captain that set out to make a fortune for himself as the conflict between the Ecclesiarchy and the Imperium grew. At the edges of the Obscurum Tempestus he raided worlds demanding tithes in the name of the church.
It all went well for quite a while before the Imperial fleet caught up with him and his crew. They where swiftly dealt with and sent to their deaths in the cold darkness of space. The ship then joined the fleet for many years living a rather quiet life with the coward captain Ardbus at its helm.
But the ship’s soul had been awakened so as the bloody conflict grew into the Reign of blood it again was brought into violent service as Ardbus was replaced with Imperial captain Jeramy Ghal that commandeered the ship to chase after the renegade war master Ulthrich that had been spreading fear and terror in the Agripinaa sector, close to the Eye of terror. In a brutal fleet battle the war master was finally slain but the ship had suffered heavy damage and was sent to the ship yards of Agripinaa where it again was left in a state of restless sleep.
For over three thousand years it would rest before dreams of glory again roused it from its heavy sleep. Abbadon launched his 11th crusade and Almirel’s fury was commandeered by the Ultramarine captain Corador to protect the Cadian gate. It was christened Voice of Agripinaa to protect the vessel as it traveled the treacherous space around the Eye of terror in service of the Emperor of mankind.
But the enemy never came and the Voice of Agripinaa’s mission changed yet again placing it on a patrol route to protect from incursions from the Eye of terror, the ever present threat to the imperium. For many years it would lead a rather singular life battling pirates and small war parties. But fate had other plans for her and as the civil war ravaged the world of Vrax in the Scarus sector it was again was called into service. The fleet battle over the planet had escalated with multiple marine chapters on either side fighting for control and the Voice of Agripinaa held its flank against the chaos.
It was here a small almost unnoticed cut would send its soul on yet another journey. As the war raged a small breacher squad from the Death guard chapter The Purge managed to board the ship. It was an almost indistinguishable hole in the hull and even if the intrusion was swiftly dealt with the slow, wilting strain of virus that took hold of the ship could not be battled. In the end Captain Corador ordered the navigator to set a course out of the system so that the plague would not spread to other ships.
They say that every ship that has succumbed to the dreaded diseases of Nurgle slowly will make its way towards the home of the plague lord himself, the Plague planet. Here they become plague hulks that are sent back out to spread the benediction of the All father.
The valiant sacrifice doomed the crew and the ship to slowly drift towards the Eye of terror and the Plague planet in a drawn out torturous death rattle. In time the battle cruiser left the warp a tainted husk of it former self and arrived at the shores of the cursed planet.
Here it was gifted to Death guard captain Kyrios with a specific mission to sneak into the Ultramar sector and lay in wait for further instructions. He gathered his men and christened the ship Requiem Est as a cruel twist on its former name. They set off just as the 13th black crusade launched making them a spearhead into what would be a glorious time for the dark Gods.
So a new chapter opened up for the ship now known as Requiem Est. A twisting journey that would take it to the heart of darkness through the treacherous murky warp.
Who knows what tales it will be a part of as the bell strikes the hour for the Imperium of man yet again.
=I=
Every vectorium need a ship to execute their unholy mission. This is the ship my army will use to raid and ruin the paradise worlds of Ultramar.
I love the Warhammer 40k background for space ships and space combat. Great piece of fluff.
Cheers mate.
I try and write some small fluff pieces for the minis I create. Over at my blog miniaturedarkness.wordpress.com I have written some more. This text was taken from there when I started to create my own Vectorium for the death guard a good while back. Now im back 🙂