Night Lords
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| Night Lords | |
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| Primarch | Konrad Curze |
|---|---|
| Battlecry | We have come for you! |
| Colours | Dark Blue (lightning details sometimes used) |
The Night Lords are one of the traitor legions of Chaos Space Marines in the fictional Warhammer 40,000 universe. They were among the first to fall to Chaos, and use fear tactics as effectively as any weapon.
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[edit] History
[edit] Primarch
The Primarch of the Night Lords legion was Konrad Curze (whose name nods to Joseph Conrad's novel Heart of Darkness and its character Kurtz), later known as Night Haunter. As described in the Index Astartes article [1], the character's history begins in childhood, the infant's capsule crashing through the crust of Nostramo Quintus - a planet entirely without natural light. Nostramo (Another nod to Conrad and his Nostromo novel) was a dystopian society; the majority of the population live in poverty, exploited by the wealthy. Crime is mostly unchecked, depression inescapable, and overpopulation kept in check by suicide. Unlike other Primarchs, Konrad Curze is left alone to raise himself. Due to an "unrecorded event" in his maturity, the Primarch becomes a sadistic vigilante, decimating Nostramro's crime lords so severely the planet's crime rate falls to zero through fear. He soon becomes the planet's sole ruler, and adopts the nickname given to him by his terrified subjects: Night Haunter.
Beyond his Primarch abilities of enhanced strength, durability and intellect, Night Haunter shows precognitive talents, able to see the darkest of all possible futures. Among these futures are the betrayal of his brother Primarchs against the Emperor and the destruction of Nostramo by bright beams of white. He suffers one such visionary fit when reunited with the Emperor. The Lord of Mankind calms him by placing his hand upon his head, starting the following exchange:
"Konrad Curze, be at peace. I have arrived, and I have come to take you home."
"That is not my name, father. I am Night Haunter, and I know full well what you intend for me."
Night Haunter comes to see himself as a necessary evil: a monster in the service of humanity, sparing it from the worst horrors demanded by survival. Where other legions' marines were seen as nobles, the Night Lords were seen as grotesques. The Primarch saw himself as both tragic hero and unloved monster. This duality is supported by Zso Sahaal's memories in "Lord of the Night".
Night Haunter is described as a pale, towering being of incredible presence, with pallid, sunken features and eyes black and cold as obsidian. Lord of the Night describes him as clothed in a great cloak of black feathers, giving him the appearance of a giant crow.
[edit] The Great Crusade
The article states that Night Haunter took control of the VIII Space Marine legion, renaming them the Night Lords. He learned the doctrines of the Space Marines under Fulgrim's tutelage, and moulded his legion into an "efficient, humourless force", possessing the "fanatical thoroughness of witch hunters". The legion began decorating their armour with images designed to strike fear into their enemies. Soon, mere rumours of their presence prompted entire systems to pay all outstanding tithes, cease all illegal activity, and kill the deformed and the mutated rather than attract the Night Lords' presence. Their purges grew ever more extreme, and the legion ignorantly replenished its ranks with criminals from Nostramo Quintus, which had since degenerated back to normal in Night Haunter's absence. The Primarch loses control over his Legion, while his visions increase in clarity and quantity.
Night Haunter confided one of these visions to his mentor, Fulgrim. The vision saw the Emperor taking the life of his own son, Night Haunter, along with his other sons. After learning of this, Rogal Dorn confronted Night Haunter in reproach. Night Haunter savagely wounded Dorn and was exiled to his chambers, while the other Primarchs debated over his future. Soon after, he made a violent escape rather than face responsibility for his actions. While he meditated in confinement, the first of the Emperor's assassins attempted - and failed - to take his life. This last betrayal motivated Night Haunter's escape, and descent into evil.
[edit] The Horus Heresy
Night Haunter became more susceptible to the whispers of Chaos, and his legion's campaigns became less and less justifiable, leaving a trail of devastated worlds across the galaxy. The legion now fought solely in the name of terror. Eventually, the Emperor was forced to recall Night Haunter to answer the charges laid against him and his legion. The novel Lord of the Night, (Spurrier, 2005) implies the Night Lords' excesses were sanctioned by the Emperor; when they were no longer necessary, they became scapegoats to hide the dark side of the crusade.
But before the Night Lords could reach Earth, a new crisis erupted: the Horus Heresy. Night Haunter swiftly pledged support to Warmaster Horus. Unlike the other traitors, the Night Lords allied themselves to none of the Chaos Gods. Chaos, to them, was just another weapon in their arsenal of terror. Slowly but surely, the Night Lords, now entirely comprised of murderers and criminals, carved a bloody path towards Terra.
After the invasion of Terra, the legion did not splinter as did the other Traitor Legions. Instead they warred across the Eastern Fringe in a campaign of random genocide. Among their acts was the destruction of Nostramo by Orbital Bombardment. The fleet targeted the single vulnerable point in the planet's crust - where Night Haunter had first arrived on the planet. The planet was destroyed, fulfilling Night Haunter's prophecy.
Half the operatives of the Callidus Temple were dispatched to slay the Night Lords' Primarch in hopes of halting the slaughter. Eventually one of the assassins, M'Shen (a reference to Martin Sheen who played Kurtz' intended assassin in Apocalypse Now, itself based on Conrad's novel), penetrated Night Haunter's fortress and slew him. Lord of the Night suggests this fortress had been planned by Night Haunter to be his mausoleum. The Primarch allowed his executioner's entry, having ordered his soldiers to let her pass. Night Haunter saw himself as the embodiment of the tyranny he had once fought. Judging by his enigmatic, weary last words, however, he appeared ready to face punishment. Death was vindication from his crimes.
"I have known of your presence since you first entered my territory, assassin. I could have had you destroyed at any time. The fact is that I have allowed you to get this close to me, and what you are about to do, will prove everything that I have ever believed."
Lord of the Night suggests Night Haunter had a dual personality. He possessed not only two names, but two identities. "He knew that he was two men. One was... just and righteous [Konrad Curze]-" the daemon spat the words, disgusted "- whilst the other [Night Haunter]... mm... the other had felt the kiss of Chaos all its life. One thrived on focus. The other ate fear."
[edit] Combat Doctrine
The Night Lords thrive on sowing fear and confusion amongst their prey. They commonly disable a target's communications and broadcast sounds and images of tortured and dying prisoners. The Legion then makes planetfall and begins slaughtering at leisure. They give no quarter, have no mercy, and honour no surrender. No targeted world has ever been spared.
The Night Lords have neither a grand agenda to fulfill, nor an unholy crusade to fight. They fight for the love of killing - especially in killing the defenseless. Darkness is their ally, and the Night Lords are masters of stealth and fear tactics, recognising these as potent weapons in their own right. They specialize in fast assaults, springing from nowhere to decimate their foes. They favour Chaos Space Marine Bikes, Raptors, and enslaved flying daemons called Furies, who share their allies' love of slaughter and fear. When their target is sufficiently weakened, isolated, and divided, they will seek to deliver a short, violent assault with overwhelming force to complete the victory. This doctrine resembles the precisionist tactics of infamous Alpha Legion, but the Night Lords' emphasise inflicting terror more than throwing the enemy off balance.
The Night Lords' and their tactics are expanded on in the Black Library novel "Lord of the Night". In this, a Night Lords Raptor named Zso Sahaal wakes on an Imperial hive world after millennia of temporal stasis in the hold of a crashed starship. Sahaal successfully manipulates an alienated underhive sect into following him and acting as his private army. Sahaal impersonates a loyal Space Marine from Terra, come to cleanse the "corrupt" hive of heresy and mutation. Through the liberal application of his Legion's famed terror tactics, he maintained his men's morale and discipline long enough to stage an assault on the hive at large, lighting the territory for a full scale invasion from the Night Lords.
Upon their arrival, Sahaal is distraught to find that his Legion has abandoned Night Haunter's ways during his absence. They are now led by the former Axemaster Krieg Acerbus who had achieved the rank of daemon prince. Now, they freely consorted with, and submitted to, the whims of Chaos. They butchered their foes for neither dominance nor revenge, but simply to satiate their own bloodlust. The Night Lords promptly slaughtered the planet's entire population. On confronting the Night Lord's daemonic commander, Sahaal is met with amused contempt. Night Haunter, Sahaal is told, was completely insane when he died. His ideal of peace through atrocity was nothing more than an excuse to gratify his basic urges. The Night Lords, Sahaal excepted, always knew this. War was nothing but an excuse for the Night Lords to kill and sow fear as they pleased.
[edit] Battlecry
"We have come for you!"
[edit] Appearance
The appearance of the Night Lords has undergone several minor changes. Currently they wear dark blue power armour trimmed in brass/gold, decorated with symbols portraying fear and death. Along with the traits associated with all traitor legions (spikes, skulls, gruesome "trophies"etc). The Legion's symbol is that of a bat-winged skull, often fanged or horned or both. This has scarcely changed the time the Legion was still loyal to the Emperor.
[edit] Beliefs of the Legion
Before the Horus Heresy, the Night Lords' doctrine was the use of fear to achieve a wider goal. To ensure his men were not overcome by sadism, the importance of focus was repeatedly emphasised. The Primarch and Talonmaster Zso Sahaal were the main proponents of this philosophy[2]. Night Haunter feared his Legion would slide into bloodthirsty excess without a strong leader, and so appointed Zso Sahaal as his heir. In Lord of the Night, Zso Sahaal is isolated from his Legion for nearly ten thousand years. Over this time the Night Lords have become obsessed with inflicting terror purely for its own sake. Sahaal resolved to become the Night Lords' leader, and reclaim them from the influence of Chaos.
The Legion's current beliefs are based on a love of killing and inflicting terror. The Legion is motivated by power and wealth, and pours as much vitriol and scorn upon the Chaos faithful as those of the Imperium. They are a force of nihilistic, avaricious murderers, utterly revelling in their notoriety.
[edit] Notable appearances
The Night Lords appeared in the short story Chains of Command, fighting against (and losing to) the Ultramarines, notably Uriel Ventris. Another appearance is made in the Space Wolves story "Sons of Fenris", where a group of Night Lords are fighting against Wolf Lord Ragnar Blackmane and his cadre of Wolfguard. They also appeared in the Eldar stronghold mission of Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War: Dark Crusade.
[edit] Notes
- ^ "Index Astartes – Night Lords" (September 2001). White Dwarf: Australian Edition (261). ISSN 0265-8712.
- ^ Spurrier, Simon (2005). Lord of the Night. Nottingham: Black Library. ISBN 1-84416-157-9.
[edit] References
- Games Workshop Design Staff (2002). Warhammer 40,000 Codex: Chaos Space Marines, 1st Edition, Nottingham: Games Workshop. ISBN 1-84154-322-5.
- Spurrier, Simon (2005). Lord of the Night. Nottingham: Black Library. ISBN 1-84416-157-9.
- "Index Astartes – Night Lords" (September 2001). White Dwarf: Australian Edition (261). ISSN 0265-8712.
- Haines, Pete; and McNeill, Graham (2004). Warhammer 40,000 Codex: Space Marines, 4th Edition, Nottingham: Games Workshop. ISBN 1-84154-526-0.
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