Rhadamanthus
The Rhadamanthus, or the Judgement of the Dead, is a relic from the Age of Strife, that is in possession of the Imperium.[1]
History
It is a black metal sphere, three metres across, that is studded with coolant hoses and is wreathed in a haze of steam. Though the Rhadamanthus' exact purpose is not known, as it is based on a technology unfamiliar to even the Mechanicum, the relic is extremely powerful. So much so, that when the Imperium originally discovered the Rhadamanthus during the Great Crusade, beneath the ancient city of Mithras on Cambrae, the Emperor himself refused to unearth the relic. Instead, the Emperor ordered that Mithras would be spared from the Imperium's Compliance of Cambrae. He did not give the order lightly, but the Emperor hoped to ensure that the Rhadamanthus remained buried and lost, lest its terrible might was somehow unleashed.[1]
However, the Horus Heresy would later begin and Warmaster Horus sought to claim any advantage he could to end the stalemate in his war against the Imperium. This led the Sons of Horus cruiser Eschaton to appear above Cambrae and destroy Mithras with an orbital bombardment. In doing so, the Sons of Horus not only killed the city's population of hundreds of thousands, but also destroyed a culture that had survived the Age of Strife. The Eschaton then deployed a Praetor-led Company of the Traitor Legion, which successfully excavated the Rhadamanthus from beneath Mithras' ruins. Though before the relic could be sent to the Eschaton, the ship was attacked by an Adeptus Mechanicus cruiser from the Loyalist Forge World Mezoa. The sudden attack forced the Eschaton to defend itself, though it warned the Sons of Horus before engaging the Mechanicus cruiser.[1]
This warning was not enough, however, to save the Traitor Company from the descending might of the Disciples of the Flames Blackshields warband and the Mezoan Skitarii Conclave Expurgis-Zeta-Phi. Their battle ended with the Sons of Horus all slain and the Loyalists escaped with the Rhadamanthus, once their cruiser returned from attacking the Eschaton. It is not known how the Disciples and Mezoa were able to learn of the Sons of Horus' attack and then intervene in time to recover the relic from the Traitor Legion. Some have speculated though, that the Blackshields' leader, Cassian Dracos, discovered the Sons of Horus' actions through using certain psychic divinitory rituals that he had an affinity for.[1]
Sources
- 1: Journal Tactica: Skitarii, pgs. 22-23 - The Coronid Legacy
