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From Warhammer 40k - Lexicanum
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==Overview==
===Great Crusade===
The ''Vengeful Spirit'' is an ancient vessel, constructed in the [[M30|30th Millennium]] by the artisans of [[Mars]]. The ''Vengeful Spirit'' was one of the largest of the Gloriana-class command vessels alongside the ''[[Hrafnkel]]'', ''[[Conqueror (Ship)|Conqueror]]'', and ''[[Iron Blood]]''.{{Fn|3}} Heavily armed, the ''Vengeful Spirit'' gained a formidable reputation during the [[Great Crusade]] as the command ship of [[Primarch]] and later [[Imperial]] [[Warmaster]] [[Horus Lupercal]]. The mere arrival of the ''Vengeful Spirit'' would often result in the surrender of an entire [[System|star system]].{{Fn|2}}
From the ''strategium'', and later [[Lupercal's Court]], upon the command deck, Horus would coordinate the military and diplomatic efforts of the [[63rd Expeditionary Fleet]], and countless thousands of personnel lived and worked on board. Additionally because it was so old the core of the ship was a rotting, empty labyrinth of filth and rats. Over time as the [[Sons of Horus]] became corrupted during the [[Horus Heresy]], it became less of a warship and more of a temple to the dark gods of [[Chaos]] whom Horus came to revere. By this time, Horus' throneroom Lupercal's Court existed within its own Warp Pocket Dimension inside the ship, and inside this lair Horus, often accompanied by [[Zardu Layak]], spent much of his time comatose as his spirit walked the Empyrean.{{Fn|10}} The [[Battle of Terra|final battle]] between Horus and the [[Emperor]] took place on the twisted bridge of the ship where humanity's bright future was shattered beyond repair.
During the final hours of the [[Siege of Terra]], the Vengeful Spirit had essentially become an extension of Horus' will. So corrupted had the vessel become that it was now acting as a conduit to drag [[Terra]] itself into the Warp.{{Fn|12a}} Horus' psychic connection to the ship allowed him to lower its shields with a thought to bait the Emperor to him before [[Roboute Guilliman]]'s fleet could arrive.{{Fn|12b}} Thus, when the Emperor led a teleportation assault on the ''Vengeful Spirit'' the attackers became scattered throughout the vessel and fell prey to many of the daemonic and surreal traps Horus had prepared.{{Fn|12c}} The final battle between Horus and the Emperor took place aboard the ''Vengeful Spirit'', ending in Horus' death and the Emperor's grievous wounding.{{Fn|13}}
===Post-Heresy===
Following death of Horus and the defeat of the traitors in [[The Scouring]], the ''Vengeful Spirit'' fell under the control [[First Captain]] [[Ezekyle Abaddon]]. Somehow, the vessel became embedded under the former [[Eldar]] world of [[Asa'ciaral]] deep within the [[Eye of Terror]]. With the Sons of Horus in disarray after the fall of [[Maleum]], an expedition led by [[Falkus Kibre]], [[Iskandar Khayon]], and others eventually managed to find both Abaddon and the ''Vengeful Spirit''. Commanding a fleet once again, Abaddon used the vessel to crush the [[Emperor's Children]] and their clone of Horus on [[Harmony]]. Shortly before the battle, Iskandar Khayon's preserved sister, now known as the ''Anamnesis'', combined with the [[Machine Spirit]] of the ''Vengeful Spirit'', allowing the vessel to operate with minimal crew.{{Fn|4a}}
[[Image:VengefulSpirit13BC.jpg|thumb|right|230px|The ''Vengeful Spirit'' during the [[13th Black Crusade]] ]]
*{{Endn|10}}: [[The Lost and the Damned (Novel)]], Chapter 4
*{{Endn|11}}: [[Horus Rising (Novel)]], Part One, Chapter One
*{{Endn|12}}: [[The End and the Death: Volume I (Novel)]]
**{{Endn|12a}}: 3:xxxii
**{{Endn|12b}}: 2:iv
**{{Endn|12c}}: 3:i
===Uncited===
