14th Chapter (Night Lords)
The 14th Chapter of the Night Lords[1a] was known to have been active during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy. It traditionally included an exceptionally high number of companies recruited from Terran veterans.[1b]
Contents
History
Great Crusade
The 14th Chapter was a long-serving unit. Several of its companies were originally recruited from the "Night's Children", those drafted from Terra's prisons during the Unification Wars.[1b] Its eventual commander, Praetor Morthax, was proud to have served the Emperor for almost 200 years.[1a]
Drop Site Massacre and death of the Terran veterans
All changed when Night Lord Primarch Konrad Curze opted to betray the Imperium. The Terran veterans of the 14th Chapter under Morthax did not outright declare for the Emperor, but they also could not condone their Legion's treason considering their deep devotion to a twisted sense of justice.[1b] The old veterans of the 14th Chapter, about 1,300 Space Marines, were deployed at the southern fringes of the Ignis Sector during the Drop Site Massacre and tasked with hunting down any loyalist stragglers breaking out of the Urgall Depression.[1a][1b]
Instead of following their orders and employing the Night Lords' traditional tactics, the 14th Chapter deployed in the open and directly confronted a large force of the Proximan Sacramentii. Praetor Morthax personally approached these furious Imperial Army soldiers unarmed and without words; he was promptly cut down, his honor still intact as he had not taken up arms against the Imperium. His troops subsequently conducted a suicidal charge against the Proximan Sacramentii, deliberately fighting in a way that ensured their own demise. In this way, they believed that they could avenge their Praetor, atone for the Night Lords' betrayal, while also honoring their vows to their Primarch. Ultimately, Morthax's entire force was slain, allowing the Proximan Sacramentii to play a major role in saving some beleaguered Salamanders.[1b]
Rogue warlords
After the demise of its Terran veterans, the 14th Chapter was left with troops who had little loyalty to anyone, not even their Primarch. In course of the Thramas Crusade, the 14th Chapter became known as one of the Night Lords formations bearing the cross of bone, meaning that they went effectively rogue to carve out their own warlord domains.[2][3]
Known Actions
- 006.M31: Drop Site Massacre — About 1,300 Terran veterans of the 14th Chapter were deployed as hunter-killers at the edge of the Ignis Sector, but instead allowed themselves to be destroyed by Loyalist forces.[1a][1b]
- 007-009.M31: Thramas Crusade — The 14th Chapter became one of the Night Lords units which went rogue, breaking away from their Legion for their own purposes.[2][3]
Known Members
Sources
- 1: Journal Strategia: The Ruin of the Salamanders:
- 2: Pages from the Black Books – Night Lords at Thramas, pg. 4
- 3: The Horus Heresy Book Nine - Crusade, pg. 131
