Northern Fringe Campaign
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The Northern Fringe Campaign was a secretive campaign waged by Dark Angels legion in 997.M30 during the Great Crusade.[1]
History
The Northern fringes campaign was waged across the Northern Fringe of Segmentum Obscurus, near to the region of the Ghoul Stars and systems such as Muspel. The campaign was carried out under the direction of Lion El’Jonson. Despite calls for he and his legion to join the Ullanor Crusade, the lord of the First had declined to share in the wealth of glory being earned by their brethren legions, much to the discontent of many of his sons. Rather, the Lion saw fit to act upon a growing cladogram of complied evidence that an Ironwing led investigation El’Jonson had recently sent out into the galactic north had collected. Evidence which suggested only one terrible truth: That a colossal Khrave infestation was taking root within the northern fringes of the young imperium.[1a]
In response to this dire threat, the Lion assembled together a staggering array of forces, drawn from the 4th Expeditionary fleet, in order to scour the Northern Fringe: One hundred and fifty thousand Dark Angels, several hundred warships, tens of millions of ancillaries, auxiliaries and mortal support staff.[1a] Who were supported further by the 4ths vestigial Mechanicum elements.[1b]
This force was discreetly dispersed amongst the multitudes of expeditionary fleets waging their crusades across scores of separate war zones within the Northern fringe. Each seeking to hunt down traces of the Xeno’s parasitic influence, and then drive the Khrave into the open, in order that they may be destroyed by the sons of Caliban and their ancient weapons.[1c] This deployment was carried under the greatest degree of discretion possible, lest the true intent of the campaign be undermined by the Khrave taking possession of the minds of the campaign’s mortal elements, and the advantage of surprise be lost to the Dark Angels. With only the Lion himself and select circles within his Legion knowing the true intent of their mission.[1a]
The Muspel Compliance
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Muspel was an Imperial world brought into Compliance by the Blood Angels Legion during the Great Crusade and later became the penultimate conflict during the Northern Fringe campaign. At that time, Muspel's population had regressed into barbarity and dwelled in the ruins of Dark Age cities. The Blood Angels remarked that they cried out to primitive gods that abandoned them, but were remarkably passive and bore no weapons at all. Because of this, Muspel was easily brought into Compliance and was then rebuilt by the Imperium. Subsequently Dark Angels Primarch Lion El'Jonson investigated strange disappearances and unrest occurring around the world. It eventually became apparent that a Khrave infestation had erupted on Muspel.[1]
When El’Jonson and a task force of the First legion arrived, deployed anonymously under 2,003rd expeditionary fleet, the Khrave began to immediately attack them with their thralls and created new ones by psychically dominating non-Dark Angel members of the Primarch's fleet.[1d] The Legion held firm, though, and the Xenos were forced to step up their efforts to defeat the Dark Angels. This resulted in the Khrave investing much of their psychic powers into individual thralls and turning them into Khrave-Hosts. While this gave the Khrave a powerful thrall to perfectly control, it put them in danger as once the Host died, the Khrave died as well. This led to the deaths of a number of Khrave at the Dark Angels' hands as the legion deployed the Order of Santales to combat their foe[1d], which weakened their psychic network and damaged the ruling organism known as the Autochthonar. In response, the Khrave's ruler led a large fleet towards Muspel, from their homeworld within the Ghoul Stars, in order to finally end the battle and destroy the Dark Angels. However the Primarch El'Jonson learned of this, after the Khrave-Host that was once the Remembrancer Savine Grael attempted to psychically dominate him. The attack backfired, as the Primarch's mental strength was too much for her[1c] and as she died,[1f] the Primarch gazed into her memories and the psychic network the Khrave shared. Through this, he not only learned of every Khrave's location, but also that the Autochthonar was leading a fleet to Muspel.[1c] When soon after the Autochthonar's fleet arrived at Muspel, and began to a planetary invasion, El'Jonson struck and teleported aboard the Khrave ruler's ship, with a small group of Dark Angels. They would fight their way through the Khrave defending the ship to reach the Autochthonar's chamber. There the two leaders clashed as their forces fought around them. While facing the Primarch, the Autochthonar nearly overwhelmed El'Jonson and taunted the Primarch that it would drain everything from his mind and then feast upon the corpse of the Imperium.[1h] This would not come to pass, though, as on Muspel's surface, the Ironwing Master Duriel sacrificed himself[1i] to destroy a gigantic Khrave-Titan with an atomic bomb[1k]. The deaths of so many Khrave at once, sent an intense backlash of psychic feedback throughout the connection the Xenos shared, and left the Autochthonar spasming on the floor. As he stood over the helpless ruler of the Khrave, El'Jonson said that while the Imperium may one day fall, the Autochthonar would not be there to see it, and then drove the Lion Sword through the Xenos' skull.[1i] By the battle's end, the death of the Autochthonar and so many of the Khrave ended the threat they posed to the Imperium and freed their enslaved thralls.[1l]
Aftermath
Following the death of the Autochthonar, and the death of so many Khrave the psychic network of the species collapsed. Ending them as a military threat to the to young imperium, with the location of their homeworld now also known to Lion.[1e] The Kharve armada of human slaves was now freed from their psychics influence, and most chose to surrender themselves willingly to the legion, though sporadic bouts of resistance would still flare up. Auxiliary and civilians elements from Orders Civilis meticulously picked over this mass of human flotsam, and thousands would be bundled away at a time into transports for interrogation by the Firewing.[1l]
In the end, the details of the compliance at Muspel would be purged from the minds of those who fought, the surviving legionaries would remember the battles, yet the nature of their foe would be erased from all save a select few Dark Angels. The sole commemoration of the battle being a featureless, silver laurel awarded as an honour to those who had done their duty.[1m]
Known battles
- The Muspel Compliance
Sources
- 1: Lion El'Jonson: Lord of the First (Novel)
- 1a: Chapter 1 - Section I
- 1b: Chapter 4 - Section III
- 1d: Chapter 8 - Section I
- 1e: Chapter 8 - Section II
- 1f: Chapter 8 - Section III
- 1g: Chapter 9 - Section I
- 1h: Chapter 10 - Section VII
- 1i: Chapter 10 - Section VIII
- 1j: Chapter 10 - Section IX
- 1k: Chapter 10 - Section X
- 1l: Chapter 11 - Section I
- 1m: Chapter 11 - Section III
