The Founding of the GREY KNIGHTS I 40k Lore

amidst the dense ranks of the administratum many adepts and Scholars are locked in fervent debate over deciding which enemy stands as the greatest threat to Humanity's precarious place within the Galaxy we are beset upon all sides by the invading swarms of extra Galactic and ever devouring tyrannids the brutish Orcs run rampant across every corner of the Imperium where they are driven purely by their inate compulsion towards committing acts of Reckless violence ancient eldari vessels drift through the cosmic web to Cru remind us of the bygone days of their once Mighty Stellar Empire meanwhile the decrepit living metal constructs of the necrons have awoken from their eons of Slumber with the sole intent of purging all biological life which stands before them but despite these looming threats which are each poised to claim our Galactic Birthright there is just one enemy which can claim the dark crown of being Humanity's Eternal Nemesis and this most heinous of titles could only ever belong to the Demonic forces of the warp since the dawn of humanity in our most humble of Beginnings we have been at odds with the sions of the dark Gods who derive their strengths from our own emotional energy which forever Empower their nefarious Legions perhaps more so than any other faction it is the denisons of the warp who hold an unparalleled thirst for not only the destruction of our holy Imperium but also for our very Souls all are susceptible to the Insidious sway of chaos whether it be the most ignorant and unassuming farmer toiling their life away upon an agry world or a noble estares chapter Master none are safe from the Goring Whispers of demonic forces even in a pitched battle the vast armies of the Imperium cannot truly stand against the unnatural and horrific entities which will viciously tear their way out of unreality we are but Mortals raging against that which can never be truly killed our conflicts against the demon kin seem to only end at the fickle and capricious Wills of the chaos Gods themselves whilst we may struggle to replenish our staggering losses they will exploit our own emotional outbursts to perpetually bolster their inexhaustible ranks of demonic followers with new foul Legions all of whom seek nothing but to consume our sacred human Essence but there is hope in this Dying Light today we are to investigate the greatest weapon against demonic forces which Humanity has ever conceived the gray Knights this is a mysterious Brotherhood of champion aartis who have but one singular purpose and it is to banish the demon wherever it is to be encountered their Genesis has been long shrouded beneath the veil of secrecy by Imperial leaders few even know of their true existence and many simply believe them to be a myth conjured up to embolden meager Guardsmen who fear that which lurks in the mysterious Darkness beyond our own reality however the gry knights are undeniably real and they transcend the concept of myth into the status of Legend today I shall attempt to elucidate upon their Origins piecing together what scant records remain within the most hallowed depths of terror's librarium unfortunately sorted historical events have been intentionally destroyed by the most senior of inquisitorial agents in the preceding Millennia all to prevent the organization's secrets from ever being revealed perhaps the only individual who truly knows of their first days would be the the Grand Master of the grey Knights himself but nevertheless I shall attempt to accurately recite the tale which has been lost to most the creation of the gray Knights has officially been accredited to having occurred during the second founding however its true Inception began during the bloody days of the Horus heresy at the time the god Emperor still walked among us but with his near prophetic and heartbreaking foresight he knew that even if his forces were successful in quelling this Rebellion that the foul entities of the warp could never truly be vanquished and that they would eternally plague Humanity throughout its future he had watched his own Sons fall to the ruinous Powers Mighty true born aartis and even the demigod primarchs were fallible to heretical Temptation thus he sought out to rectify his past mistakes by founding a group who could stare unflinchingly into the Abyssal depths of the warp only to stand Resolute and unscathed by its infernal gaze the first treacherous salvos of the war with the arch traitor Horus had erupted upon istvan 3 and upon hearing of this most tragic of events the emperor turned to his most trusted friend and Ally malcador the sigil light he was instructed to search for the most noble and dedicated servants to the Imperium who could embody his own vision for Humanity's future by standing as the foundations to a new Legion the emperor currently preoccupied with completing his intricate plans for the human webway project as well as by preparing for the looming conflict with Horus gave malcador His blessings and the sigite embarked upon a farflung journey throughout the Stars he visited the venerable home worlds of each Legion he searched battlefields encased in the corpses of those who had fallen and delved into the deepest slums of the densest Imperial Hive cities all in a Relentless quest to interrogate loyalist traitor and outcasted individuals alike in a galaxy inhabited by trillions he found but 12 men who were of strong enough character skill and unwavering determination to stand before the Emperor as his most loyal of Champions Among The Chosen 12 four of these were Imperial Lords and administrative agents while the remaining eight were Mighty Space Marine Heroes drawn from a variety of loyalist and great allegion these venerable Warriors had cast aside their previous allegiances to pledge their remaining lives towards serving the emperor in whatever capacity he required of them this arduous search throughout the Imperium had been no small task for malcador to complete and so it was only in the final days of the heresy that he was finally able to return to Terror with his uncovered Champions his small voidcraft was able to silently slipped through the various blockades erected across the soul system and soon enough he would Faithfully serve his leeg at his side once more some of the newly recruited Champions were survivors of the harrowing eisenstein atrocity namely the death guard Captain Nathaniel goo and the audite iterator kyell Cinderman amongst the others was the defiant thousands son Sergeant revu arvida later known as Jan and the loyal determined captain of the Luna Wolves garvel loan these individuals had all proven themselves as being more than capable in their coming Mission as they had each served as members of maldor's task force of the knights errant this group had been tasked with performing certain clandestine actions to disrupt the schemes and plans of the traitor forces across the Imperium all as a part of the sigalit silent war against the Heretics after making Planet fall upon holy Terror each of the selected members were quickly summoned to stand before the emperor within his Palace during their initial meeting he assessed and analyzed their very being all to be sure that they could be worthy enough to carry out this precious task eventually he completed his survey and commended malcador for having brought true champions to join in their cause he ultimately saw them as being more than capable enough to enact his most crucial of plans one which would be utterly essential for shielding Humanity from the ephemeral and ever shifting forces of the warp the group was split off to attend to two distinct missions the four Lords were tasked with creating the framework of the Inquisition an organization which would strive towards in investigating and eliminating any traces of chaos were it to appear throughout the Galaxy the Marines however were taken with malcador to the cold and distant Moon of Titan orbiting our own gaseous giant of Saturn during the cites laborious search for his esteemed individuals the emperor had ordered the construction of a secluded Fortress Monastery upon Titan hidden deep beneath its frigid and in hospitable surface such was the importance of this mission that none save the emperor and his most trusted of advisers knew of its existence even the vast Invasion fleets of the traitor forces did not suspect that such a grand structure had been erected within the farflung moon but it held a truly treasured Bounty of resources within upon their arrival malcador found a formidable army of service and loyal acolytes who would assist him in the challenges which lay ahead the monastery was equipped with vast cryo vaults each containing an immense stock of a unique and highly potent Gene seed which was seen to expressed genetic traits which had never been previously encountered in any existing Legion in truth this had been meticulously formulated using the emperor's own genetic material and it was serve as his parting gift to his new forces who would forever carry his legacy within their very bones thousands of capable recruits had also been sourced from across the Imperium by the order of the emperor himself and they were destined to become the firstborn members of his new Legion these initiates were plucked from aarti's home worlds Imperial regiments and even from primitive worlds where the inhabitants knew of nothing but labor and loyalty to the Emperor their selection however was not done solely based on their physical prowess each aspirant possessed the gift of latent psychic ability and upon being imbued with the aforementioned Gene seed they would develop into potent and Powerful psychers possessing a level of Mastery over their abilities in a way which had never been witnessed among their aarti's Brethren knowing of the importance of this Mission and of the dire situation looming over Terror malcador worked tirelessly to bring the greay knights into being he ordered the construction of new facilities and training grounds designed to pit the recruits against horrific trials which would prepare them for their oncoming battles the initiates were forced to endure and overcome the harshest of challenges set against them and despite despite the worrying volume of aspirant members who succumbed to these arduous tests there were still some shining characters of brilliant who would soon take up their arms against the enemies of man whilst this training process seemed to be advancing rather well fate being ever an eternal and capricious mistress intervened to disrupt their Sacred Plan by this point the traitor Fleet had encroached close enough to Holy Terror that they would soon form an unbreakable blockade and so the emperor sent out a call for malcador to return to his Palace a mission from which he would never return as he departed he selected the Valiant Knight Janus to take his place in overseeing the rest of this Grand Endeavor thus Janus ascended from one of maldor's chosen to become the first supreme Grand Master of the newly formed gray Knights as a final Act of defiance against the traitor forces malador initiated a ritual to further shroud Titan from the overwhelming scale of War which would soon drown the soul system whilst The Fortress itself was heavily guarded and well hidden he knew that the moon itself remained vulnerable throughout the Galaxy his psychic might was seconded by only the emperor himself and with these great Powers he initiated an ancient long forgotten ritual as his parting gift to the burgeoning legion he enveloped Titan within an expansive bubble of reality before plunging it deep into the warp itself protected from both the prying eyes of those who dwell within and outside of our own plane of existence here far removed from the turmoil of our Galaxy its inhabitants could dedicate their time towards completing their task with fervent determination and singular Focus tragically it was during the climactic hours of the Horus heresy that malador finally met his fated end the emperor was forced to remove himself from The Golden Throne in order to bring the arch traitor to justice but this most sacred of seats could not be left empty knowing of the dire consequences he asked the sigite to take his place upon the throne where he would provide the psychic strength needed to Shield the final vestages of the human webway from falling to demonic forces if these warp born entities were allowed to breach the psychic barriers then they could use the gateway to launch an allout assault into the Sanctified depths of the Imperial Palace potentially leading to a traitor Victory unfortunately however even with his immense psionic Powers we must remember that malcador was but a mortal and the Monumental demands of this Duty ultimately proved to be overwhelming following his calamitous but Victorious duel with Horus the crippled body of the emperor was returned to the Imperial Palace however a most harrowed sight was there to greet them all the that remained of malcador the sigite was a withered and desiccated husk his act of enduring the psychic storms had proved to be successful however as he sat he appeared so frail and so Hollow that none could be sure as to how his body was holding itself together as he was carefully and gently removed from The Golden Throne the great gift of Life finally departed from his corporeal vessel and he he fell to dust with his death his role within the grey Knights came to an end and the mantle of command rested solely on the shoulders of the Supreme grandm Janus in the few short years which followed Titan remained hidden within the warp ever protected by The Parting Gift of malcador psychic might time is but a Fickle thing within the imum so for the the nent grey Knights entire decades had seemingly come and gone but during this period they had seized time as a tremendous Advantage as Titan silently reappeared within the orbit of Saturn Janus had forged an incomparably potent weapon against the Demonic hordes The Fortress Monastery had disappeared with but eight aartis and their recruits but they emerged with a complete roster of 1,000 fully fledged gray Knights each of these sacred warriors were true masters of combat who could surpass even the veterans of the heresy in their maral abilities regardless of these skills however their prowess in fighting against the forces of the warp had truly risen to a level without equal the psychic chapter had meticulously honed their abilities to excel at banishing the Demonic forces of the warp The Forbidden rituals and psionic techniques taught to them by the late hero malcador would allow them to be unmatched Paragons in the Eternal Quest of eradicating and purging the Scions of the dark Gods each of the gray Knights will stride into battle wielding potent Force weapons sigh cannons and purgation flamers all of which have been tuned and perfected towards the art of granting the touch of true death upon a foul demon aside from the estares chapter the four human Lords who were recruited by malcador had also completed their task of establishing the organization known as the Inquisition and they had patiently awaited the foretold return of their nightly Brothers knowing the importance of keeping such a chapter obscured from the prying eyes of the Galaxy they quietly recorded their formation as having occurred during the chaotic and anarchic second founding as the the 666th chapter of the Space Marines they understood that most would never question their existence as being anything other than yet another successor chapter and so their true Origins were kept shrouded from the rest of the Imperium the senior Lords of the Inquisition embarked on a journey to Titan to meet with Janus and to discuss their Newfound role within the Galaxy as Humanity's final bullwark against all things demonic The Words which transpired here are recorded only in the annals of the gray Knights and were never to be disclosed to any but its own chapter's masters they sealed a solemn pact which stated that both the gry knights and the Inquisition would ever be tied and that their inaugural missions were to scour the Galaxy of any lingering demonic remnants which persisted from The Strife of the Horus heresy the gray Knights embarked on a shrouded Crusade against the everpresent threat of the ruinous Powers across a hundred worlds hushed Whispers emerged of resplendant silver armored angels manifesting from thin air to impale Twisted Crimson entities with their blazing Spears of Fury entire planets were purged of demonic forces by these mysterious knights with their inhabitants being left in profound awe of the sheer Majesty that was displayed koll Cinderman one of the Nobles who had pledged himself to malcador had remained within his post as an Inquisitor standing ever Vigilant to the threat of chaos across the Imperium despite his reverential role within the organization and his incomparable efforts in bringing both the gray Knights and Inquisition into existence he still could not escape from the oncoming times of Darkness during the middle of the 32nd Millennium following the cataclysmic conflict known as The War of the Beast dracen vorich the Grand Master of the officio assassinorum orchestrated a violent and bloody coup within the Imperium in a devastating event known as the beheading he swiftly executed his plan of eliminating each of the high Lords of Terror as well as numerous high-ranking members of important institutions and organizations with the Inquisition being a prime target for his ruthless Purge as such he poisoned Cinderman condemning him to die in agony at the hands of someone who was meant to safeguard and protect the Imperium with his dying breaths he confided to a fellow Inquisitor that he was the final remaining member of maldor's human recruits to know of the true founding story of the gray Knights he revealed his instrumental efforts in mobilizing the gry knights to wage a Relentless war against the Demonic forces which remained within the galaxy in the aftermath of the Horus heresy he also emphasized the profound significance of their mission in defending Humanity from the foul and malevolent forces of the warp Cinderman feared that the gry knights would would simply be used as just another aartis chapter and that their true potential would be squandered by ignorant Imperial Lords who remained oblivious to the existential threat posed by the ruinous Powers he imparted a task of vital importance to this Inquisitor and instructed her to depart to Titan where she was to meet with the Supreme grandm Janus in order to formulate a new pact between the grey Knights and the Inquisition I with Cinderman now deceased she left for the shrouded Moon and entered into a prolonged discourse with Janus as to the state of their chapter and the Imperium at large they agreed that for the grey Knights to fulfill their true purpose that they must be more intimately tied towards the Inquisition and that they should answer to none but the high inquisitors themselves as such the Inquisition was was divided into two distinct branches the Ordo zenos who would focus on the alien threats of the Galaxy and the Ordo malus who would solely turn their gaze to the threat of chaos the key part of this agreement was that the grey Knights should serve as the chamber militant of the Ordo malus ensuring that they could be entirely dedicated to combating the machinations of the dark gods with this agreement sealed the grey Knights assumed their intended role as the ultimate Defenders of humanity against the forces of the immaterium this psychic Legion would only ever be deployed for Missions where a demonic incursion was in full swing and where no other Army could effectively combat the impending Darkness shrouded in utmost secrecy their near impossible task of containing and eliminating the powers of the the warp Falls only to them they appear as a righteous storm poised to banish the most foul of forces which exist only to bring about our downfall the mere concept of chaos is a closely held secret within the Imperium most should never know of its existence lest they tempt Fate by attempting to Corral and draw power from it but for the gray Knights they only know of its truth too well each of its members stands as a valiant hero of light who will illuminate the darkest corners of our galaxy shielding Humanity from our own Eternal enemy

Channel: Scholar's Lore

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Length: 25min 56sec (1556 seconds)

Published: Mon Jan 01 2024