764
edits
Changes
From Warhammer 40k - Lexicanum
→History: Anglicisation.
At that time, the tribal society of Ghourra was ruled by a feudal overlord, or [[Gaur]] (sometimes referred to as "Ghour" or "Gour"). The Gaur surrounded himself with an elite priesthood who conducted the ritual observances by which the Gaur made tribute to his god, [[Khorne]]. This militant-priesthood evolved over time into a bodyguard force which practiced its martial skills as diligently as it had once conducted its bloody sacrificial rites.{{Fn|4x}}
As the Gaur's influence grew and spread to neighboring neighbouring worlds, it was this bodyguard force that led his conquering armies. It soon became a mark of respect to be 'bloody-pacted" to the Gaur. Numbers grew, recruited from vassal worlds, and the bodyguard force eventually became an army in its own right; the current Blood Pact.{{Fn|4x}}
Uniquely, every single member of the Blood Pact (and Imperial tactical estimates suggest there may be as many as three quarters of a million Blood Pact warriors) is personally inducted into service by the Gaur himself. To prove his allegiance in blood to both the Gaur and the Blood God, each aspirant ritually gashes his hands on the sharpened edges of the Gaur's battle armorarmour.{{Fn|4x}}{{Fn|8}}
The [[Imperium]]'s first encounter with the Blood Pact occurred in the aftermath of the [[Battle of Balhaut]] in '''765.[[M41]]''', when [[Archon (Chaos)|Archon]] [[Nadzybar]] was slain in personal combat with [[Warmaster]] [[Slaydo]]. A member of Slaydo's bodyguard unit, [[Imperial Guard Sergeant|Sergeant]] [[Commodus Ryland]], was captured and interrogated by a cultist, identifying herself as a warrior of the Blood Pact, loyal to Urlock Gaur.{{Fn|5}}
After a period of infighting between Nadzybar's [[Magister]]s and [[Pater (Chaos)|Pater]]s, Gaur emerged to take Nadzybar's place as the new Archon.{{Fn|4x}} Although the Gaur was never counted among the most charismatic or tactically brilliant of Nadzybar's lieutenants, his possession of a sizable, disciplined army - the Blood Pact - allowed him to dominate the other Chaos warhosts.{{Fn|4x}}
Gaur's Blood Pact had been encountered in combat during the early years of the Crusade, but never properly identified. However, once he became Archon, the Blood Pact became a backbone element of the Chaos host. It is believed many other arch-enemy units and divisions, wishing to prove their loyalty to the new Archon, converted to the Blood Pact. Within just a few years, the Crusade forces came to recognize recognise the Blood Pact as elite infantry of the arch-enemy.{{Fn|1}}
This recognition was aptly demonstrated at the [[Battle of the Akkorite Peninsula]] on [[Belshiir Binary]] in 771. A vital and much-contested world due to its [[promethium]] wells, refineries and processing depots, Belshiir Binary was the site of a notable Blood Pact victory. A force of two hundred Blood Pact troopers, supported by just four [[stalk-tank]]s and two [[Loxatl]] brood groups, cut off and annihilated a force of three thousand [[Imperial Guardsmen]]. The outnumbered Blood Pact force was commanded by an officer called [[Vesh Etogaur]] (the second word possibly indicative of rank, as in 'demi-gaur' or [[colonel]]) whose strict command led to the Pact force lying in baking heat for three days without breaking cover until the Imperial forces had moved into the cone of their ambush. The resulting combat lasted twenty-two minutes. No members of the Guard unit survived the slaughter, and the Akkorite Peninsula refinery remained under Chaotic control for a further fifteen months.{{Fn|2}}{{Fn|4x}}
