House Krast is an Imperial Knight house of the Questor Mechanicus that has sworn direct fealty to the Adeptus Mechanicus. House Krast hails from the Knight World of Chrysis, and was the first of its kind to be rediscovered by the Imperium at the outset of the Great Crusade in the late 30th Millennium. Chrysis and its Nobles are among the longest-serving allies of the Imperium and the Mechanicus. Chrysis retains a strong connection to the Sol System and Mars by a long-established stable Warp route.
The most skilled Sacristans outside of Mars itself service House Krast; its Knights are functionally perfect, blessed by the Sacristans' digital-psalms and binary-hymns. In praise of their skills and in honour of Chrysis' ancient alliance with Mars, the Nobles of Krast bow down to the Machine God, revering him as an aspect of the God-Emperor and as the patron of their world.
At that time, the surviving Nobles of House Krast swore two oaths: the first, eternal loyalty to the Red Planet; the second, eternal vengeance against those that betrayed them. Their descendants maintain these oaths to this day, honouring Mars while seeking out the forces of Chaos above all others, hoping to settle old scores and fulfil the oaths sworn by every one of their ancestors.
Yet ten thousand Terran years has not been long enough to heal the bitterness that pervades House Krast. From atop shielded strongholds, its Nobles look with cold fury upon the toxic remains of their homeworld of Chrysis, knowing to whom they owe the blood-price for its death. Where once existed continents thick with plants and oceans teeming with life, now only skeletal forests and vast open basins remain. On shorelines turned from wave-washed beaches into dry towering cliff faces, and on islands rising up above empty seas, the crumbling ruins of long-dead knightly houses serve as a constant reminder of treachery.
Still they burn, thirsting for vengeance upon those that betrayed them during the Horus Heresy. The treachery of that conflict took a fearsome toll on Chrysis, with the Chaos Titans of the Legio Mortis the chief culprits behind the utter ruination of their homeworld. Despite this, House Krast still honours Mars, and never shirks its responsibilities to its Adeptus Mechanicus allies, sending Knights to any Forge World that requests military aid.
The motto of House Krast is, "Crush the Serpent."
House History[]
Great Crusade[]
House Krast colour scheme as displayed by the Knight Paladin Blade of Vengeance.
The Knight World of Chrysis holds the prestige of being the first of its kind brought to Imperial Compliance during the Great Crusade. Located a mere dozen light years from the Sol System, the planet was quickly rediscovered by Rogue Trader Militant Jeffers who carried reports of a developed world protected by several Knight households, news which generated much interest upon Mars. Upon contact, such enthusiasm was reciprocated, for long had the people of Chrysis battled the horrors of the galaxy during the Age of Strife unaided, and all welcomed the opportunity to join the fledgling Imperium of Man.
Of those Knight households who called Chrysis their home, of which the heraldry and deeds of seven are known and committed in the archives of Mars, it was House Krast, preeminent household of Chrysis that was chosen to ascend to the stars. Those houses left behind were tasked with consolidating the alliance with Mars to ensure the warriors of House Krast were readily supplied for the battles they would face in the solar decades to come.
Such a task was viewed as a great honour, albeit one of lesser glory than those who stood amongst the ranks of the expeditionary fleets, and as salve to those Scions of lesser households left beyond, House Krast issued edicts that saw lots drawn each solar decade amongst the remaining Knight houses; those few Scions chosen would take their place alongside House Krast as Freeblades, earning honour for their lineage before returning home once more a solar decade later.
First amongst the Knight houses to swear allegiance to the Imperium, bar those who were founded upon the Red Planet itself, House Krast benefited greatly from the forges of Mars, receiving full support in the reinvigoration of its ancient Knight armours in return for granting the ancient Mechanicum access to Chrysis and the abundant resources it in turn offered. This mutual exchange ensured that House Krast stood independent long after its rediscovery, swearing itself solely to the larger Imperium while forging concords with numerous Forge Worlds. While the Scions of House Krast fought across the galaxy, those Knight houses that remained upon Chrysis fought a political battle, resisting all attempts to shackle the Knight World to a singular strand of the Mechanicum.
For the warriors of House Krast, the knowledge that they were the first Knights to pledge themselves to the Imperium became a point of pride, often used to diminish others and lauded over those deemed lesser than their own. Though few bonds of brotherhood were created in such a way, House Krast cared not, preferring instead to let its long record of victories during the Great Crusade prove the household's greatness. Indeed, the Scions of House Krast are recorded to have shared the field of battle with no fewer than 13 of the Emperor's primarchs before the beginning of the Horus Heresy, a source of much pride amongst the household.
Perhaps the sole point of contention lay in the notable absence of service of House Krast's warriors alongside Horus Lupercal, a circumstance viewed as a slight against its warriors only worsened when the title of Warmaster was given to him. That it never fought alongside the Warmaster now stands as a point of pride in the history of House Krast, given his perfidy against the Emperor and the wrath he unleashed upon Chrysis.
Horus Heresy[]
House Krast Pre-Heresy colour scheme and heraldry, as displayed by the Questoris Knight Warden Fervorous Defender.
At the onset of the Horus Heresy, the warriors of House Krast were scattered across the galaxy and little of the household's strength remained in close proximity to Chrysis. Continued loyalty to the Imperium and the Emperor was never a question amongst the Knight houses of Chrysis and the forces of House Krast fought bitterly to cast down the Traitors, content in the knowledge that its own world was adequately shielded from harm.
Alas, such confidence was proven false, for the Warmaster Horus deemed the Knight World too costly a target, in both time and numbers, to delay his march on Terra. As the defenders of Chrysis gathered to repel the anticipated Traitor invasion, they instead found the Knight World subjected to a prolonged bombardment of virus bombs, the once-verdant Jungle World reduced to a toxic wasteland where only the broken relics of Chrysis' Knight houses stood in memory of all those who had fallen.
When the Scions of House Krast returned to find the dead world of which its house was the sole survivor, hatred erupted within the soul of its warriors. In the years that followed, this burning vehemence saw the warriors of House Krast hound the Traitors across the stars, vowing never to rest until all lay dead.
Of Chrysis itself, House Krast refused to abandon it, choosing to align itself closely to Mars in the years following the Heresy in order to rebuild the household's fortification on its now-dead world. The broken remains of the households' heritage serve as a constant reminder of the Traitors' actions, so that no warrior of Krast may forget the vengeance they must wreak.
41st Millennium[]
Chrysis[]
The Knight World of Chrysis still bears the scars inflicted by Horus. Today, what were once continents thick with plants and oceans teeming with life have been reduced to skeletal, petrified forests and vast open basins, empty save for the fossilized remains of ancient sea creatures.
The keeps of dead knightly houses still dot the landscape. On shorelines turned from wave-washed beaches into dry, towering cliff faces, and on islands rising up above empty seas, their crumbling remains are a constant reminder of the treachery of Horus. In places where the virus bombs fell from orbit, great toxic lakes still remain, as deadly now as they were ten thousand Terran years ago when the Warmaster ordered an Exterminatus action upon the doomed world.
Periodically, huge dust storms scour Chrysis' surface, kicking up chemical clouds that roll across its dry ocean beds, killing anything in their path. Only the strongholds of House Krast remain, along with the Adeptus Mechanicus mining platforms still leeching the world for its mineral wealth. In the shielded enclaves of the Nobles some semblance of the world they once had remains, green gardens and artificial lakes protected from the ravages of Chrysis' ruined atmosphere.
Even so, it is a parody of normalcy drawn from faded tapestries and half-remembered stories. When a Krastian Noble stands atop his keep and stares out through the shimmering haze of its void shield he knows his world has been taken from him, and to whom he owes the blood-price for its death. Ever since the Horus Heresy, the Knights of House Krast have vowed that whenever the threat of Chaos rears its malformed head, they will be there to sever the serpent at the neck.
First to Fight[]
A Knight Paladin and a pair of Knight Errants from House Krast support an Astra Militarum regiment in battle.
It is still a great point of pride for the Nobles of House Krast that they were the first Knight World to make formal alliance with the Imperium during the Great Crusade. That they fought for the Emperor during the Horus Heresy, and suffered greatly in the process, only strengthens their sense of superiority over the other knightly houses.
After their planet was ravaged by Horus, the Adeptus Mechanicus helped the Nobles rebuild and strengthen their much-depleted households; in return House Krast swore eternal loyalty to Mars and became a member of the Questor Mechanicus. It is a union that has endured for a hundred Terran centuries, the manufactoria of the Red Planet maintaining the Knights of House Krast and the Nobles heeding the Tech-priests' calls to war.
Their ties to the Mechanicus heavily influence Krastian society, and their Nobles offer up prayers to the Omnissiah in the vaulted machine-shrines of void-shielded castles. It is to the Machine God they pray, hopeful that His blessed technology will not fail them. By contrast with the other knightly houses, Krast contributes more Knights to the service of the Adeptus Titanicus of Mars than any other, with the exception of House Taranis, the Knights of the Red Planet itself. The Nobles of Krast relish the glory in fighting alongside the Titans of Mars and crushing enemy war machines and fortifications under blazing cannon rounds and howling Reaper Chainsword assaults. Wisely, the current fabricator-general of the Mechanicus maintains this eagerness among the Nobles by offering them war wherever the taint of heresy and the stain of Chaos can be found.
Raised on the tales of the vile cowardice of those that follow the Ruinous Powers, and growing up seeing the ashes of their world every solar day from behind flickering energy shields, it is little wonder that the Nobles of Krast have an unquenchable hatred for Traitors. There can be no greater reward for a Krastian Knight than punishing the Heretic, and in battle the house's young Nobles are prone to recklessness if it offers the chance to claim a prestigious kill such as a Chaos super-heavy tank or Daemon Engine. "The Headtakers" are the greatest expression of this hate -- these are House Krast Nobles who have destroyed Chaos Titans and earned their eternal place as heroes of Chrysis.
Headtaker Titan Hunters[]
Of the bitter betrayals that led to the destruction of all but one of the knightly houses on Chrysis, House Krast holds the base treachery of the Legio Mortis to be the worst. As one of Mars' own Titan Legions, the "Death's Heads" fought alongside the Knights of House Krast on many occasions during the early years of the Great Crusade. However, after siding with Horus during the ensuing galactic civil war, the Death's Heads were reborn in the image of the Plague God Nurgle, and led the assault that devastated Chrysis and annihilated the planet's lesser Knight houses.
The Knights of House Krast have ever sought to avenge their fallen kinsmen, and seek out the Titans of the Legio Mortis above all others in battle. Should a Knight claim a Chaos Titan kill, his deed will herald many celebrations on his return to his homeworld. However, such revelry will pale in comparison to that on Chrysis should a Knight of Krast fell one of the Legio Mortis.
The Noble will be treated to a triumph in his honour and he will henceforth be known as a Headtaker. Each Headtaker bears a broken Death's Head symbol on his Knight armour or tabard –- a battle honour reminding all of his heroic deed and celebrating the destruction of a hated foe. Rumoured sightings of the Traitor Titans of the Legio Mortis amongst the Chaos forces besieging the Cadian Gate during the 13th Black Crusade in 999.M41 led House Krast to redeploy its Nobles to that war zone in great force.
Hammer of Traitors[]
In the middle of the Screaming Sea on Chrysis, on an island which was once a tropical paradise, a towering monument of adamantium stands watch over thousands of kilometres of dry ocean bed and cursed earth. This is the Hammer of Traitors, and it is here that House Krast records its tally against the servants of the Dark Gods. At the top of the monument are chronicled the greatest kills, the Legio Mortis Titans vanquished by the Krastian Knights. The tally works its way down through Daemon Engines, super-heavy tanks and notable fortresses.
Towards the bottom are Heretic armies that have been crushed; little more than the names of worlds, prominent commanders and cults, and then casualty numbers in their tens of thousands, as if an afterthought. The base of the Hammer of Traitors serves a different purpose, and its huge foundation is ringed in chains and collars. It is here that House Krast brings the most hated Traitors, Chaos generals, Heretics and betrayers, often secretly taken from war zones without the knowledge of the Inquisition.
These prisoners are stripped and shackled to the monument to suffer the foul work their gods have wrought on Chrysis. For most the poison air and chemical wind will kill them in solar hours, choking on their own bile and blood as their flesh burns and peels away. Stronger specimens, such as Traitor Marines, having been known to last for solar days, until a toxic storm washes over the island and flays their flesh away, leaving only scorched, smoking bones behind.
Agents of the Inquisition have on occasion turned their attention to the knightly house, but always the political might of the Adeptus Mechanicus is there to confound their efforts. These strangers find no welcome on Chrysis, and are as likely to vanish as those sent to the Hammer.
There are also no records of the Hammer of Traitors in any Krastian datacore or cogitator conclave, its location known only to the lord of the house and his most trusted Nobles. The Adeptus Mechanicus is aware of the existence of the Hammer of Traitors and House Krast's dark secret, though the current fabricator-general is content to let the Nobles punish their foes as they see fit, provided Chrysis fights for the interests of Mars.
Notable Campaigns[]
- Battle of Herald's Fall (Unknown Date) - House Krast has been involved in a number of great victories over the forces of Chaos, though they never shirk their responsibilities to their Adeptus Mechanicus allies should the Tech-priests of Mars summon them to war. During the Battle of Herald's Fall, four household detachments of House Krast's Knights fought the invading Ork forces of WAAAGH! Spleenrippa alongside the Legio Osedax ("Cockatrices") Titan Legion. Though they lost fully half of their number over the course of the fighting, the three survivors above earned what passes for acclaim from the Fabricator-General of Mars himself after bringing down Spleenrippa's Great Gargant in a combined assault before it could smash apart the irreplaceable war machine known as the Ordinatus Mars. In the wake of the battle, Headtaker Forillus, the Knight who gutted the Warlord's Gargant with his Reaper Chainsword, was seconded to the Legion.
- Battle for the Gates of Obsilom (663.M33) - Cyan Krast led his forces to a great victory against the servants of the Dark Gods, crushing the Golden Taint warband.
- Not Even In Death...(854.M40) - A trio of Knights from House Krast join Space Marines from the Ultramarines Chapter to defend the Mining World of Gorvax against a warhost of Asuryani Ghost Warriors from Iyanden Craftworld. A Knight suit's Throne Mechanicum takes control after its pilot is slain by a xenos sniper, the echoes of spirits long dead guiding the unmanned Knight into battle once more. The Knight carves its way through countless Wraithbone constructs before two Wraithknights, the largest and mightiest of the xenos combat walkers, finally bring it down in an epic duel of giant war machines. Though the Asuryani are eventually defeated, victory on Gorvax does not belong to the living.
- A Blade in the Void (512.999.M41) - A Chaos wolf pack attacks the Imperial heavy transport Penitent Blade while en route to the war zones of Heloeum. When the vessel is boarded, the Nobles of House Krast mount their Knight suits and prepare to repel the Traitor Marines. In the vast vaulted cargo halls of the voidship, the Knights crush the Traitors underfoot and blast apart their vanguard of Terminators and Helbrutes. When a fresh wave of Chaos boarders are sent against the Penitent Blade, the Nobles order the cargo hall doors opened, so they might engage the incoming assault boats. Their craft scattered and destroyed, the Traitors retreat into the void.
- The 13th Black Crusade (995.999.M41) - Houses Krast and Arokon join the Imperial forces rushing to reinforce the Cadian Gate against the Chaos hordes spewing forth from the Eye of Terror. The inbound Knights of House Arokon are feared lost amid the fierce etheric tides of Warp Storm Baphomael. However, news soon filters back to the Imperium that four household detachments of Knights bearing Arokon's colours have been seen taking the fight to the forces of Chaos, shattering two large formations of Iron Warriors siege tanks with righteous fury.
Notable House Krast Knights[]
- Fervorous Defender (Questoris Knight Warden) - This Knight armour depicted above was piloted by Knight Scion Garathi Ashbrone during the latter years of the Great Crusade until it was destroyed during the bombardment of Chrysis during the final years of the Horus Heresy.
- Redemption of Adamant (Knight Crusader) - Knight armour piloted by Baron Lagos.
- Blade of Vengeance (Knight Errant) - Knight armour piloted by Sir Dagos.
- Headtaker' (Knight Errant) - Knight armour piloted by Sir Forillus.
- Hexenhammer' (Knight Errant) - Knight armour piloted by Sir Teros.
- Exorcist of Hate (Knight Paladin) - Knight armour piloted by Sir Daimos.
- Steadfast Honour (Cerastus Knight-Acheron) - In the honour rolls of House Krast, the Steadfast Honour, depicted below, is recorded as having been piloted by no less than 32 different Knight Scions during the Great Crusade, exceeding that of any other of the household's Knight armours. This number is attributed to the Knight Acheron's frequent position at the vanguard during operations, a position of pride often given because of the storied history of the Knight's service. Dozens of victories are noted as occurring due to the efforts of Steadfast Honour and within the ranks of House Krast it became a portentous symbol to see the Knight armour at the forefront of battle. Household legend states that a battle has never been lost when the Steadfast Honour led the charge and, though its Scions might fall, the Knight has always risen anew, its form seemingly impervious to long-lasting damage.
- Hate's Requiem (Armiger Helverin) - Knight armour piloted by Bondsman Narsus.
- Serpent's Bane' (Armiger Warglaive) - Knight armour piloted by Countess Karyx.
Notable House Krast Personnel[]
- Cyan Krast - In 663.M33, Cyan Krast led his forces to a great victory against the servants of the Dark Gods, crushing the Golden Taint warband in the Battle for the Gates of Obsilom.
- Lord Taben Krast - In 203.M36, Taben offered up his firstborn son to the Legio Titanicus of Mars as a mark of his allegiance to the Adeptus Mechanicus. In return, the Fabricator-General reaffirmed his support of the house's war against Chaos.
- Baron Lagos - Baron Lagos is the pilot of the Knight Crusader the Redemption of Adamant. In House Krast, the rank of Baron is signified by the twin yellow stripes atop the carapace. Over long years of service, the Redemption of Adamant has weathered the worst firepower and battle damage the enemies of Mankind could manage, yet always the Sacristans have repaired its adamantium armour, and, if anything, Lagos and the myriad memory-figments within his Throne Mechanicum come back stronger each time, eager to exact revenge. As a Baron, Lagos' duties are to maintain his stronghold, to lead the Knights under his service, and to answer the call of the Princeps should he summon members of House Krast to war. Depending upon his liege's needs, Baron Lagos might send a household detachment of his Knights, go into battle himself, or lead his own favoured escort -- a Baronial Court -- into battle.
- Garathi Ashbrone - Knight Scion Garathi Ashbrone served during the Great Crusade and opening years of the Horus Heresy. The duty as guardian and protector was seen as a great honour amongst the ranks of House Krast. When circumstances required the presence of Knights to watch over a disputed region of space, only the most patient and level-headed of Knight Scions were chosen and to be assigned such a duty was a mark of respect. Despite the name of his Knight Warden, Fervorous Defender, its pilot was noted within the Household's records as a patient and intelligent tactician, standing amongst the finest of House Krast's warriors during the Great Crusade. Many had marked the Scion as a potential future Grand Master had he not been slain when Chrysis was bombarded during the final years of the Horus Heresy.
- Dagos - Sir Dagos was a notable Krastian Knight who fought on the Vagorn Helfront against a major uprising throughout the Vagorn Sector of the Ultima Segmentum. Dagos, aboard his Knight Blade of Vengeance, and a detachment of Knights from House Krast, were deployed in the early stages of the conflict to attempt to destroy the Helfront core world of Crematis, and to slay its leader, the Warp-seer Neroteka the Unbound. Almost as soon as the Knights landed on the blasted ash wastes of Crematis they fell into a trap set by the Helfront, and their Imperial Guard allies were scattered and destroyed by the massed armies of the Traitors. Dagos and his lance-brothers fought valiantly against the Helfront army, but were eventually cut down by a trio of corrupted Shadowsword super-heavy tanks augmented by strange Warp-magicks that shielded them from Thermal and Battle Cannon fire. Its reactor fractured, the fallen Blade of Vengeance and its brothers were dragged in chains behind the Shadowswords as trophies to be presented to their dark master Neroteka. While the Heretics broke down the gates of their city to present their prize, Dagos coaxed Blade of Vengeance back from the dead, using his mastery of the Throne Mechanicum to bypass damaged systems and draw power from reserve compactors. With a shudder and a great blast on its war horn, the Knight came to life once more, and rose up over the howling Heretics. Dagos fired a point-blank Thermal Cannon blast into Neroteka's palace balcony, obliterating the Heretic and all of his generals as they gloated over their victory. Though Dagos was eventually slain by the frenzied Traitors, taking hundreds with him in a bloody last stand, he had vanquished their leader and their uprising was ultimately broken. To honour Dagos' sacrifice, a statue commemorating his final act of defiance stands vigil over the entrance to the fortress of House Krast.
- Forillus - Sir Forillus was a notable Krastian Knight who fought in the brutal retribution campaign against WAAAGH! Spleenrippa on the world of Herald's Fall. Forillus was among a detachment of House Krast Knights sent to cleanse the world of Orks in support of the Legio Osedax Titan Legion. The Krastian Knights waded into the Ork-infested fens and hunted down thousands of Orks, incinerating the scrap-barges that roamed the swamps and drowning those that tried to escape by crushing them under adamantium feet. At the climax of the battle Spleenrippa himself charged the Imperial lines in his Great Gargant at the head of a huge army of Greenskins hungry for battle. Though a hail of fire, the Titans and Knights advanced across the rotting ground, rounds and beams sparking off adamantium hulls or cracking as they struck Void and Ion Shields. Forillus and his lance-brothers scored dozens of blows upon the Great Gargant's hull before the rest of the Stompas, Gargants and Battle Wagons arrived in force. Spleenrippa eagerly charged the Ordinatus Mars, largest of the Cockatrice Legion's Titans, but his hubris proved to be his undoing, as Forillus levelled his Thermal Cannon at the Great Gargant's head, turning it into molten slag. Headless, the war engine staggered into the Orks, crushing scores into the ground before keeling over to sink into the swamp. For his valour in saving the Titan, Forillus would be honoured by the Adeptus Mechanicus and inducted into their ranks as a member of the Legion. Since the Great Rift opened, Forillus has fought battles allied with three different Forge Worlds, even joining Primarch Roboute Guilliman during part of the Indomitus Crusade. During the years of his service alongside the Cockatrices, Sir Forillus learned many strategies of mechanised war, including how to engage enemy war machines even larger and deadlier than his own, and how to evade their fury long enough to wear them down and destroy them. These lessons proved invaluable when Forillus found himself fighting alongside the Vostroyan 87th Regimeny against the vast war effigies of WAAAGH! Cogstompa, making him the bane of the Greenskins' most powerful battle engines.
- Daimos - Nobles on Krast learn to hate what the servants of the Dark Gods have done to Chrysis. For many, this anger and thirst for revenge is focused upon their foes, making them fearless warriors in the face of Chaos, but for others the hatred can poison their minds completely. Sir Daimos was raised surrounded by the wasteland of Chrysis, a constant reminder of the treacherous nature of the Ruinous Powers. When he undertook the Becoming, the rampant hatred in his mind was further inflamed by the whispers of the Throne Mechanicum. The first time he strode to war it was against seditionists on the planet of Forsyn XII, a virgin wilderness world that had spent centuries cut off from the Imperium by roiling Warp Storms. As part of the Imperium's armies, Daimos helped to pacify the planet after it had refused to return to the Emperor's rule. In shadowy-night woods the Krastian noble torched villages and hunted rebels, the Forsynians having nothing that could match the might of a Knight. Though there was no evidence of Chaos taint on Forsyn, Daimos saw daemons in every fleeting forest shape and heresy in the eyes of every pleading citizen. When the newly installed Planetary Governor announced the rebellion crushed, Daimos did not accept that the true servants of Chaos had been dealt with. Risking the fate of a Freeblade, Daimos convinced his brothers to follow him on one final sortie into the Forsyn woods. Their journey took them to the forested slopes of the Shining Fall Mountains, where Daimos' perseverance was to pay off, as the Knights came upon a hidden fortress, cloaked from Augurs by eldritch fields and protected by Autocannon and Lascannon turrets. Erected by Traitors, the Chaos Space Marines of the Alpha Legion, the dark fortress was to be the first chink in the armour of the Forsyn and a haven where its rebellious citizens could be turned to the worship of the Dark Gods. Spearheading the charge against the Forces of Chaos, Daimos and his brother Knights made short work of the Traitors, utterly destroying the dark fortress and leaving naught but ash and rubble in their wake, though the Alpha Legion had slipped away.
- Teros - Sir Teros was the seventh son of House Krast and it was only chance and a series of coincidences and tragedies that led to him sitting in the Throne Mechanicum. Each of his older brothers either died in infancy, youthful misadventures or training accidents before their Ritual of Becoming. Any fears of a curse or taint in the young noble was quickly washed away, however, by the blood of his foes. Teros displayed not only a special gift for finding psykers on the battlefield, but also a keen desire to destroy them. Teros proved his prowess against the witch while fighting Eldar raiders in the Gulf of Aeroth. For years, the alien pirates had plundered the Mechanicus void stations of the Gulf, appearing and then vanishing before the Imperium's forces could respond. In an effort to trap the pirates, Skitarii, Astra Militarum regiments and a few House Krast Knights were seeded among the stations. When the Eldar attacked the solar-sling station of Epsilon Kay, Teros was there waiting for them, having been drawn to the remote outpost from a hundred other possible targets. Led by an alien witch, the xenos pirates used foul sorcery to slip onto the station past the Imperial armsmen, where to their surprise Teros was waiting for them. The Knight smashed apart the invading forces, sending them swiftly into retreat. When the witch escaped back to the pirates' vessel, Terros linked his Knight's advanced Augurs to the station's Macrocannons, overriding its controls and unerringly blasting the Eldar voidship from the sky.
- Countess Karyx - Countess Karyx slew the Alpha Legion Chaos Lord Stentyrius, ending his machinations in a blast of superheated energies from the Thermal Spear of her Armiger Warglaive, Serpent's Bane.
- Bondsman Narsus - The Machine Spirit of the Armiger Helverin Hate's Requiem fights with a particular venom against Traitors and turncoats, a trait its pilot, Bondsman Narsus, is more than ready to exploit.
House Strength[]
The first amongst its kind to join the fledgling Imperium, House Krast benefited greatly from the forges of Mars, which worked tirelessly to restore the diminished industry of Chrysis and supply its households with the freshly-forged Knight armours and armaments. In the solar decades that followed its rediscovery, the Sacristans of Chrysis learnt much, their skill second only to those of Mars itself. The vast increase in Mechanicum supplies and knowledge ensured that, by the onset of the Horus Heresy, House Krast stood 400 strong, all but a handful of which fought at the forefront of the Great Crusade. This capacity marked House Krast as a Primaris-grade household.
Though the Horus Heresy would bring about the death of Chrysis, and all those Knight houses left to defend it, House Krast survived, warring across the galaxy, ignorant as to the fate of its world. By the time the death of Chrysis became common knowledge within the household's ranks, over a 100 Scions of House Krast still lived and all declared oaths of vengeance against the Warmaster Horus and his allies, turning to Mars to restore the Knight house's strength and venture forth once more.
House Appearance[]
The arms of House Krast used during the Great Crusade and the Horus Heresy and altered by unanimous consent of all house Nobles in 976.M31.
House Colours[]
The evolution of House Krast's iconography over the millennia following the change of heraldry in 976.M31.
Before the Horus Heresy, House Krast displayed a blue livery colour on all of its Knights. Following the Horus Heresy, with their strong connections to the Forge World of Mars, House Krast chose to ever after bear the red of the reformed Adeptus Mechanicus as its livery.
House Arms[]
Before the Horus Heresy, House Krast displayed the icon of a black Gothic cross as its arms.
As House Krast was the lone survivor of the knightly houses of Chrysis in the wake of Horus' betrayal, in 976.M31 the house crest was changed by the unanimous consent of its Nobles. Instead of the black cross, they adopted the symbol of a gauntlet squeezing the life from the serpent of Chaos to show their hatred of the Traitors. Each Noble then swore a mighty oath of vengeance against the Traitor forces of Horus. Ever since the bitter wars of the Great Scouring, House Krast's Knights have been in the forefront of the fight against Chaos, relishing in their sworn role as the "Hammer of Traitors."
In 663.M33, Cyan Krast led his forces to a great victory against the servants of the Dark Gods, crushing the Golden Taint warband in the Battle for the Gates of Obsilom. They added a pair of crossed Witchhunter hammers behind the main crest, representing how they crush the forces of Chaos wherever they might be.
In 203.M36, Lord Taben Krast offered up his firstborn son to the Adeptus Titanicus of Mars as a mark of his allegiance to the Adeptus Mechanicus. In return, the fabricator-general of the time reaffirmed his support of the house's war against Chaos. House Krast's personal crest took on its currently recognised form at this time; the half-cog Opus Machina symbol of the Adeptus Mechanicus prominently displayed in the centre of their crest. The dual-split displays House Krast's loyalty, which is equally divided between their house and the Machine Cult.
Heraldic Devices[]
- The Gauntlet - The symbol of an armoured gauntlet crushing a serpent symbolises House Krast's hatred of Chaos. The warriors of House Krast are violent opponents of the forces of Chaos. Historically they were the first knightly house to join their forces to the Great Crusade, and they took great honour in their part of the Emperor's galactic conquest. But when the Horus Heresy reared its head, they suffered terribly. Chrysis, the home planet of House Krast, was utterly ravaged by the Traitors, and left as little more than a husk, reduced to a poisonous wasteland by the virus weapons unleashed upon it. Even 10,000 standard years later, the Nobles now live in void-shielded enclaves, and look out at their ruined world and feel a burning hate. Their icon is now the embodiment of their quest for vengeance, and they proudly tally the many Chaos worshippers they have defeated. Prosecuting this endless battle against the forces of the Dark Gods has become their driving motivation. Such is their venom that there is a secret place on their homeworld, known as the Hammer of Traitors. Here they carve the names of Chaos worshippers they have destroyed -- and, rumour has it, bring heretical prisoners to die terrible, gasping deaths in the poisonous air.
- Knightly Honours - Glorious kills are celebrated by Imperial Knights with icons to be worn on their personal banner or suit of Knight armour. These take many forms, from targetting symbols or small skulls to rings around weapon barrels. House Krast's greatest hate is for the Traitor Titan Legion of the Legio Mortis, who they hold accountable for the horrors unleashed on Chrysis long ago during the Horus Heresy. The broken death's head symbol utilised by the Knights of House Krast is a modified badge of the Legio Mortis, with a crack in the skull which denotes a Titan kill of their most hated enemies.
Videos[]
Sources[]
- Adeptus Titanicus - The Horus Heresy: Loyalist Legios (Specialty Game), pp. 84-87
- Codex: Adeptus Mechanicus (8th Edition), pp. 31, 57
- Codex: Imperial Knights (6th Edition) (Digital Edition), pp. 42, 82-87, 104, 107-108
- Codex: Imperial Knights (8th Edition), pp. 46-47
- The Imperial Knights Companion (6th Edition), pp. 15, 19, 90-99
- Titan Legions (1st Edition), "Knight", pg. 27, 29, 49-50, 54
- White Dwarf 179 (Nov 1994), "Epic: Titan Legions - Inferno" by Andy Chambers & Jervis Johnson, pp. 40-66
- White Dwarf 180 (Dec 1994), "GW & Citadel News - Epic Titan Legions" by Mike McVey, "'Eavy Metal: Imperial Knights", pp. 2, 26
- White Dwarf Weekly 5 (01 March 2014), "Houses & Heraldry", pp. 22-24
- Titan Legions (2nd Edition), pg. 54
- Games Workshop Online Webstore - Legio Metalica Transfer Sheet (with House Krast transfers)
- Warhammer Community - Pre-order: Titans, T'au and Tiny Collectibles (08 Feb 2020)
- Warhammer Community - New T'au, New Titans, and More! (02 Feb 2020)
Gallery[]
.jpg "Knight Crusader Redemption of Adamant (top).jpg (66 KB)")
.jpg "Knight Errant Blade of Vengeance (top).jpg (54 KB)")
.jpg "Knight Errant Headtaker (top).jpg (54 KB)")
.jpg "Knight Errant Hexenhammer (top).jpg (56 KB)")
.jpg "Knight Paladin Exorcist of Hate (top).jpg (57 KB)")
