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Special thanks to Sgt_Smudge for the base concept of this regiment.

The Free Realm Guard

Formation: The Free Realm Guard is a new creation. It was first projected at the very end of the Hunger Wars, but was only officially created at the very beginning of the Reclamation Crusade. The Idea was to create a standardised military force for the Free Realm that would be trained to high standards and well equipped to fight the more disparate and ponderous Imperial Guard. With a unified fighting force, it was believed that the bureaucracy managing important and vastly different fighting regiments would be lighten to a point where the Free Realm would gain a significant strategical advantage over the rest of the Imperium. The idea came from Sastar himself who realised that his Expeditionary Corp. had problems of differing combat doctrines, culture and equipment that made difficult the management of large, planetary sized, forces and resulted in intestine dispute and useless casualties. At first Sastar idea was sweeping and would have affected the entire Free Realm, but it was perceived as a too big reform and one that would scare people in believing each planet would lose its regional sovereignty. Some also believed it would make the Free Realm more vulnerable to the domination of a less wise king after Sastar’s death. Hearing those reasonable objections, Sastar decided to limit the scope of a unified army to a specialised force that would serve as a liaison between the various culture of the Free Realm, propaganda and information agents outside and inside of its borders and military police. As such they would almost fill the role of the Commissariat to fee details close. This idea was accepted by the Council of the King and implemented as the Imperium started its assault on the Free Realm of Rarken. The growth of the Free Realm Guard was impeded by the Imperial onslaught, but its creation was even more perceived by other leaders and commanders of the Free Realm as a necessity. There are currently only 20 regiments of Free Realm Guards, each 3000 strong, in operation with three more in training as the Second Battle for Telka starts.

Training: Training for the Free Realm Guard starts when recruiters for the Corp. spot promising recruits and units within their local PDF training. They favor those with a quick mind and a greater sense of loyalty toward the Free Realm and its values than all others. A strong faith in the God-Emperor is also a mandatory. The idea is to recruit soldiers of good skill and exceptional level of motivation and moral. So far, most recruits have been drawn from Ulthan, Danatus and Gaern, but all planets of the Free Realm are represented within the Corp. and even some Imperial deserters have been absorbed into it. Once the young raw recruits have been selected, they are send to one of the closest Free Realm Guard training facility in the area, there is one on Gaern, Danatus, Ulthan, Krasus, Lukar and Rarken. There they will follow a strict regime of military training and indoctrination under the supervision of the best foreign advisors from the entire Free Realm that will last 3 years. The first year of training is almost exclusively an incessant barrage of indoctrination material, physical conditioning exercise and basic weapon drill with a specialisation in marksmanship at long range. Discipline is enforced to a viciously high level. Corporal punishment is far from being an exceptional measure for breach of the rules and standards of excellence are very high. The second year of training will focus on special operations and strategy more than in combat training, but the indoctrination will remain a constant thing. The last year will focus on more advanced and specialised form of combat like hand-to-hand combat based on a mixture of martial arts, most of which from Yuzenagi, fencing and police operation and protocol. It’s also during this last year that the recruits will learn the basics of electronic warfare and propaganda diffusion. They will also receive classed from Cardonan specialist to aid in their work as agent of liaison and “glue” for the Expeditionary Corp. Once training is completed, the very best regiment will be sent behind enemy line to weaken the enemy resolve while the least highly ranked ones will be used as military police unit and track down Free Realm deserters. The training, good equipment and extremely high moral of the Free Realm Guards makes them excellent combat unit, but they are still perceived with mistrust by many PDF regiments from the Expeditionary Corp as they stand to be replaced by them and are seldom sent on the most violent operation on the front line. For Imperial High Command, they are a priority target for they can wreck impressive damage on recently reconquered zones, but even beyond the Rarken Cluster itself.

The equipment of the Free Realm Guard is very high quality, especially considering its official designation as a guerilla regiment. All soldiers are equipped with a light weight and highly efficient guard flak of camo color with a slight trim of deep blue on the collar. They wear solid helmets that envelop the head but leave the face exposed. On their shoulder, they have a chameleoline cloak that help them remain hidden no matter the terrain. They are armed with a Gaern pattern lasgun with a auxiliary grenade launcher attachment making them able to propel their grenades at greater range and precision and tackle most threats. They also all carry a gladius mono-edge sword for close combat engagement. It’s also the execution tool for the Free Realm Guard officer should they capture deserters, criminals or traitors. All of them carry a sigil of the Golden Bell on them as well as a blessed Aquila pendant. They treat both symbol worth an equal amount of reverence. They carry a fairly extensive, but compact kit that allows them to operate fully independently for extended period of time.

The Bell Ringers: The Free Realm Guard 4th, is one of the most foremost unit of their Corp. It has been in operation for about a decade now and as participated in dozens of engagement in different position and has earned numerous accolade for their heroism and their efficiency. It’s commanded by an Ulthan-born Colonel named Hansel Kendal who was almost snatched by the 55th Ulthan Drop Troopers. He has been in command of the unit for the entire time. Their first operation was in the Lukar theatre where they were deployed to ensure good discipline amongst the new Lukaran Legionnaire, a task that saw them tackling vicious murders and numerous breach of discipline. The particularly violent combat that saw some Legionnaire face in a claustrophobic environment the inhuman and dreaded Sardokarian Shock Troopers forced them to operate as a Commissarial unit earning them some scorn in the process. Later, they were deployed on Telka to slow down the advance of the Imperium and help with the evacuation of the local forces, illustrating themselves on a few occasions by holding off even the lauded Traxian 11th for a while. Currently, the 4th has been deployed behind enemy line and is secretly operating on Ferucia in preparation for the opening of a new front. There, they have managed to secure a small network of saboteur and a few rebellious companies to facilitate the invasion process even in such a heavily defended planet. Under this current operation, they operate under the code name of Bell Ringers which has been temporarily adopted as their regiment nickname.

Moto: Together we are free. For the Emperor we fight. (also the moto of the Free Realm of Rarken)

Type: Schola Progenium (+3 Ballistic Skill, +3 Willpower, Unshakable Faith), Guerilla Regiment (+3 Perception, -3 Fellowship, Ambush), Phlegmatic, Chameleoline, Electro-Vox Warfare, Mistrusted (Expeditionary Corp.), Favored Weapons (Longlas, Mortar), Special Equipment: Good quality Guard Flak, Lasgun with auxiliary grenade launcher, mono edge sword.

Special thanks to Cyrixiinus for the creation of this particular regiment.

Zoronite Reclamation Units

World: Zoron X has a trait that makes them one of the most important planets for the Free Realm of Rarken to maintain a hold of. It is a Forge World of the Omnissiah. The fact that it has sided with the rebellion is a grave concern for Imperial high command, and it has also drawn a small number of skitarii units of the Ferucian sect, originating from a Forge World housing a number of that group exiled from Zoron X in the past, into the conflict. However, for the moment all these units do is maintain their position and advocate a direct assault upon the renegade forge world, whilst lacking the strength to do so on their own and brooking no other target. Seen from space only the gigantesque orbital installations and constant flurry of void traffic might give away its nature, the natural eco-system seems intact and devoid of the usual swathes of dirt brown and tarnished steel that smother a Forge Worlds surface. The reason for this is that the entirety of its forges have been hollowed out underground due to some form of safety concern. The constrictions that this imposes are one of the main reasons that Zoron X's contributions to the rebellion is smaller than other Forge Worlds might be, which combined with heavy anti-orbital defenses, a macro-clade of skitarii and a minor knight house mean that only the planet’s lesser research facilities in the sector have come under assault. The specialties of the planets magos are metallurgy and powerfield technology, although it is clear that they have been researching xenos technology for some time now.

The cult of the Omnissiah upon Zoron X has two defining traits. The first is in its reverence for machine spirits. While this in itself is not in any way unusual for the adepts of Mars, in the case of the Zoronites they believe that machine spirits are both a form of sentience, and fundamentally human, that one can commune with through the various sacred properties of meditation and calculus. This manifests itself in a variety of ways, from extreme reluctance to damage machinery of any kind to ceremonies of mourning for the death of a machine. In addition to this they have a much higher respect for life than many other Magos, leading to an extreme caution regarding deployment of their military forces. Visitors to the planets forges prior to the insurrection would often comment on the abundance of Janus Simulacra, the humanlike servitors whose nature borders on the heretek for many Martian acolytes. Even this does not fly in the face of established Mechanicus doctrine as much as the actions of the planets Xenarite faction, whose full influence has only recently come to light. In particular they seem to be interested in Eldar, Tau, Dvergar and Vyrkanyi technology; the nature of some of their containment and elimination protocols suggest that they have also encounter Necron artifices at some point in the past, although here their usual caution is amplified tenfold, most likely only even considered for research due to its effectiveness against chaos, of which they have an abject fear. Zoron's government is composed of a council of magos, one from every major forge. One of the reasons for this is the individual forges are highly interdependent upon one another, each magos studying a specific technology and honing a narrow but in depth set of skills. Their results are then pooled within the administration of the Forge World. Recent imperial intelligence suggests that at least a few of these were in fact researching xenos technology, with one magos analysing Eldar wraith bone, another their anti-gravity technologies and yet another having an interest in Tau pulse weapons.

Reclamation Units: The reclamation squads of Zoron X have been present in the Rarken sector since long before the beginning of the rebellion, but are only recently beginning to become more common as the rebel high command requests more and more of them to service technology on the battlefield. The ‘reclamation squads', as they have been teemed by guardsmen on both sides of the conflict originated as a specific sect among the belief system of the Rarken Mechanicus. In contrast to their more cautious peers who believed that the best way to preserve the lives of machines and humans alike was to avoid conflict, the reclaimator saw it as their duty to travel the battlefields of mankind, to protect and repair those machine spirits that fought to protect the empire of humanity and smite its foes. Since their founding their popularity has waxed and waned over the years, at one point being under heavy suspicion from Imperial authorities due to a dew of their members apparently being rescued from an angry mob of feral worlders by what seemed to be xenos mercenaries. More recently it is becoming clearer to the adepts of Zoron X that in order to protect those that function on their planet the war machines of the Free Realm of Rarken are vital, and a surge in the number of reclaimator is the result.

Every single member of the reclamation squads is born and raised in the mysteries of the machine, taught that machines are just as valuable as a human life. Because of this Zoronites will already have knowledge pertaining to the repair and maintenance of complex machinery. Should one decide to heed the screams of those that fall silent on the battle field they will be directed to what is usually a large building featuring the sigil of the battlefields. There they will spend 2 years being given combat training and specific information on the war machines they will defend, and the damage that can be done by those of the enemy. In addition, their studies shall include communications and administrative skills, the better to understand the soldiers they will be working with and requisition the correct spare parts. Due to the recent increase in demand training can be shortened to as little as 6 months, often with information being downloaded directly into a trainee’s brain.

Equipment wise the reclamation squads are hard to miss. To symbolize their break with Mars the robes they wear are the same brown as that worn by the skitarii of their homeworld (any camouflage value is purely incidental) and the usual augmentics of the devotees of the machine god are in clear evidence. Furthermore, much of the units’ equipment is specifically pertinent to their duties, from Atlas repair tanks to haul damaged vehicles to tool kits and complex servitors of Zoronite design, the reclaimator squads are entirely focused on the salvation of machine spirits.

The Tinkerers: Places under the Stewardship of a tech-priest designate Tikar-Zeta3Zeta3609, this small kinship has only recently been deployed to Telka Since this time, they have already taken moderate casualties and often cause exasperation among to their colleagues for the lengths they will go retrieve vehicles. At times the efforts they have made are simply disproportionate, such as trekking several miles though a boggy quagmire to retrieve an abandoned sentinel. At others they are outright suicidal, such as insisting on rescuing burnt out chimeras that were sitting just meters away from an Imperial trench line (fortunately for the tech-priests in this instance the Imperial regiment was newly recruited and assigned, sentries simply assumed that the tech-priests and servitors fixing vehicles on their side of the trenches were allies, only becoming suspicious when they drove away into the fog). That said, rebel tank crews who find themselves stranded and exposed away from support have rarely questioned their saviours, even when they're more worried about the vehicle than them.

Moto: Found and Reforged!

Type: Forge World (+3 intelligence, +3 perception, technical knock), Salvage and Recovery Regiment (+3 intelligence, -3 strength, technical knock), fixed (command), the Few, servitor accompaniment, augmentics, defenders of the Omnissiah, Favoured weapon (Plasma Gun, Las-Cannon), Special Equipment: Atlas recovery tank per squad, anointed tool kit, Zoron pattern repair servitor.

The Free Realm King Council



High King of the Free Realm of Rarken Vego Sastar I, the Audacious

Vego Sastar is easily the most famous and important figure of the Free Realm. As former supreme commander of the Danatusian PDF, he was to become the liberator of his planet from the Imperial regime. He was also the man responsible for the unification of the various rebel worlds in a single entity. As such, he was unanimously elected as the first king of the Free Realm of Rarken and has been ruling since then. Vego Sastar is very young for such a high honor. At age 66, he is younger than many generals of the Imperial Guard opposing him. The fact that rejuvenat treatment makes him look barely above 35 years enhance this impression. Sastar always was a rare and gifted mind. Born on Danatus, he joined as soon as possible the Dragoons and was quickly noticed as a gifted young officer. He was a captain of the Danatusian Dragoon 19th drafted in the Imperial Guard during the Bastion War opposing Tau colonies and human allies when he was noticed by Lord General Ignacius Gracio who took him under his wing for a few years. At the end of the war, Sastar returned on Danatus with its victorious regiment where he assumed quickly sector command and then planetary command thanks to his war heroism, support from the Astra Militarum high command and brilliant mind. This placed him in a position of great power at the onset of the Hunger Wars and allowed him to become the leader of his planet and more to come. On a personal side, Sastar is an idealist man with a profound love for his planet and mankind in general. He is gifted with a great sense of empathy and duty toward others. Despite living and growing in an oppressive regime, he is unafraid of change and reforms and has grown to admire Tau sense of self-sacrifice during the Bastion War. His intelligence, charisma and boundless energy makes him a natural and exceptional leader. On the battlefield, Sastar was known for his capacity to command large quantity of troops with great coordination and was known for his excellent outflanking strategies. Being close to the men he commands, he attracts a fearsome amount of loyalty. The king of the Free Realm is an advised politician with a mind on large scale reforms that has a knack for surrounding himself with good people. Unlike many rulers he is willing to listen to those under him and take their opinions in account. He is unmarried and has no children, but is pressured by his council to do so as to guaranty his succession. Sastar, despite his non-negligible military experience and talent for strategy doesn’t lead much battles in person. He concerns himself mostly on grand strategy and delegates to others the direct task of prosecuting war in his name. He does keep a supervisory role though on all battlefield and once in a while his touch can be perceived on various warzones within the cluster.

High Castellan and Commander of the First Expeditionary Force Camellia Arabella of Gaern

Camellia Arabella was born on Gaern from a two officers of the Gaern Guard who were killed fighting against the forces of Chaos. As an orphan of decorated officer, she was moved from her house to the Schola Progenium facility of her homeworld. There she was selected to become a Tempestus Scion, are rather rare thing for girls with such aptitudes who end up more often in the Sisterhood. Such were her martial skills that she was named Tempestor and then field promoted to Tempestor Prime in record time. Yet, the Emperor must have had different plans for her for shortly after assuming command of the Kappic Hydra 6th, she was deployed in an assassination mission targeting an Ork Warlord and was grievously injured by one of his Nob. Her spine was broken and twisted beyond all repair and despite the success of her mission and several commendations for bravery, she was dismissed. Implants allowed her to regain the use of her legs, but not enough to withstand the rigor of the Scion’s life. Instead, she became a training advisor and specialist for the Ordo Tempestus and the Gaern Guard. Camellia position and record afforded her a lot of influence within the Gaern military most elite core. That’s how she happened to be thrusted back into command during the early onset of the Hunger Wars and how she would ultimately topple Gaern’s government and become the Castellan of the fortress world. Camellia has a reputation to be a very prudent and meticulous leader. While she appears cold and distant to most, she does have a good heart and truly believes the duty of any and all soldier is to serve and not lead. This belief is in no small part responsible for her revolt, the rest can be imputable to her sound reasoning skills and pragmatism. Arabella used to be a front line officer, an exceptional markswoman and the best sword of her Scion regiment, she still doesn’t take well to her injury and longs for leading troops in combat herself instead then from a command bunker. Arabella is most well known for her defensive strategies based on use of terrain careful deployments and well calculated counter-attacks. All those qualities were illustrated to perfection when she devised the plan to counter the offensive on Gaern, but has also shown genius in her counter-assault on Telka. She is currently leading the First Expeditionary Corp. the one in charge of the defense of Gaern and the retaking of Telka. She is more than ready to avenge her defeat on Telka by taking it back from the Imperials with less effort and casualty then they did the first time around. Officially, she is the second in line of command next to Sastar himself, but doesn’t have a strong mind when it comes to politics.

High Admiral Drake Hummel of Ulthan

High Admiral Drake Hummel is the leader of the Free Realm Battlefleet. He is in control of the vitally important fleet protecting its 32 planets and their systems. Born on Ulthan and former commodore of the local battlefleet before the Hunger Wars, he is a veteran commander like few others in the area. He also comes from a planet known for its numerous and extremely well trained space-bound troops and officers. Hummel first made his class fighting Ork pirates, a constant threat on the Rarken Cluster. He participated in no less then three major space battles against them and dozens of skirmishes. He commanded several types of ship, but has a preference for light battlecruisers thanks to their agility and their higher offensive potential. Of all the Navy officers within the Rarken Cluster, Hummel was the one with the most experience when it comes to space battle and also the one who received the most commendations following such actions. Hummel was already one of the highest ranking officer of the Navy in the sector when the Hunger Wars began, but also the highest ranking officers of the Ulthanian Drop Troopers and governor of Ulthan itself, a rather strange, but not that uncommon situation on Ulthan. The commodore loyalty to the Imperium was washed away by the incompetence of the Imperial authority on so many worlds in the area and as time passed he gained more and more sympathy toward Sastar and the rebels. Hummel was also familiar with Camellia Arabella having fought the same enemies in the past and knew of reputation the new leader of Danatus. This also factored in him joining the Free Realm. On a more personal note, the 140 years old, but looking 60, is married has been so for over a century. Miss Hummel is serving as a head administrator on Ulthan itself where she supervises relief organisations. The couple has a good number of children, grand children and great grand children all of which are well positioned in various sphere of society. Hummel is a fixed and stoic officer with a certain panache when it comes to public speaking or speeches. On the battlefield, he applies true and tested strategies with incredible precision and timing. His vast knowledge of his own ship and men makes him an exceptional void commander. Hummel is extremely loyal to his men and as even led boarding or counter boarding actions himself making him very popular amongst his troops. As High Admiral of the Free Realm, he is effectively the second most powerful man beside Sastar despite being fourth in the official hierarchy of the Free Realm behind Sastar, Arabella and Phoebus.

Master of Logistic, Lord General Commander of the Second Expeditionary Force Phoebus of Lukar

Lord General Phoebus is the leader of Lukar and occupy the position of master of Logistic. Since his homeworld is the largest, bloodiest and most active battlezone in the Free Realm, he is also in command of the Second Expeditionary Corp. currently supporting the Lukaran Legion. For a man that used to be less then nothing, this is an impressive level of responsibility and power making him officially and officiously the third most powerful person in the Free Realm of Rarken. Phoebus was born and raised on Lukar and used to work as an extraction minor in a high risk mine on one of the moon of Lukar. Little is known besides those few facts. The records of Phoebus life, if there were any, were destroyed during the Hunger Wars. In fact, Phoebus might not even be his real name and numerous are those who suspect him from being an ex-forced worker following some serious crimes he would have committed as it was a common thing in the installation where he used to work. Phoebus climbed the hierarchy of the rebels during the Hunger Wars from the very bottom. He started as an agitator within his mining complex. He then took a role of leadership by turning into a riot leader, then a violent militia officer and finally revolutionary group leader. He avoided assassinations, death in battle and the danger of leadership in a poorly organised group and managed to win victories after victories. From simple extraction worker, Phoebus became general of an organised military force that could finally take over his homeworld, its moons, asteroids, colonies and stations. This heroic effort of organisation, determination and bravery can only be described as absolutely miraculous. It’s for this reason that Sastar decided to name Phoebus Master of Logistic. The fact that Lukar produces a large quantity of the ore necessary to build weapons, ships and fortresses in the Free Realm is no stranger to such a decision. Phoebus himself is a very dangerous man. He is a man of surprisingly little charisma at first sight, but his rage and hatred have some sort of magnetic property that can make an otherwise ordinary man captivating. Phoebus is also an utilitarian and a pragmatic first and foremost. While Sastar is an idealist with dreams of a better Imperium and Arabella is attempting to follow a selfless soldier code, Phoebus is the one who is ready all extremities to reach his goals. Nobility and valor are of no concern to him. This reflect his upbringing in a place where life is cheap and his prosecution of war in a very “Lukaran style”. The other members of the Council and Sastar himself still value his point of view which is sometime desperately different and harsh, yet often necessary for victory. Phoebus has no wife not children, neither is he interested in either. In a spout of blithe realism, he suggested that he should be executed for war crimes at the end of the conflict as it would be better for everyone involve. The nature of the man makes it difficult to know if he was serious or not.

Lord General and Commander of the Third Expeditionary Force Luther Martel of Hintenberg

Lord General Luther Martel is the governor of Hintenberg and one of the few members of the High Council to have occupied his position before the Hunger Wars. Luther Martel is the 9th member of the Martel family to have ruled over the planet and is considered amongst the better ones. He ascended to the throne of Lord Governor relatively young following the death of his father following an assassination. Like all governors he did joined the Hintenberg Knights and followed the special training to become an officer. He was still under the flag when he was propelled to the seat of governor. After a few quite first years, he established himself as a careful and studious administrator if a man of little charisma. What he lacked in passion he more than make up in studiousness and temperance. During the months preceding the Hunger Wars, he attempted to negotiate for a more realistic tithe to avoid an agrarian collapse in many regions and a dangerous weaken of Hintenberg’s military. When negotiation failed, he took command of the Hintenberg Knights and proclaim secession and led his troops against the Vartarn Red Coats who were deployed to crush their rebellion. After a few years of war and several brutal and tense battles, Martel was victorious. He quickly joined the Free Realm of Rarken knowing the importance of having allies in the region to avoid being completely overwhelmed by the Imperium second offensive. Martel, being a seasoned commander of large forces, especially following the Hunger wars is one of the most important officer in the Free Realm and is in charge of the Third Expeditionary Corp currently held in reserve on his homeworld. After the victory on Gaern, he was given the instruction to open another front in the war by launching an assault on Ferucia to force a collapse of the Imperium in the Lukar sector where the situation as been completely locked in a stalemate for years. Luther Martel is married and has seven sons all of which are under flag in the Hintenberg Knights as officers ranging from colonel to simple lieutenant. They are to lead some of the regiments of the upcoming offensive to the pride of their father.

Master of the Law and Lord General Gregory Nallian

Lord General Gregory Nallian is the current Lord Governor of the Hive World of Krasus and the chief of law enforcement within the Free Realm. He occupies this prestigious position thanks to the fact that his planet is currently at a safe distance from the main battleground of the Rarken Sector. As such this is where captured guardsmen have been sent in detention in the hope of converting some to the Free Realm cause. The leadership of the Free realm is also opposed to the systematic execution of God-Emperor worshipers. The impressive military of Krasus isn’t particularly taxed at the moment and many of its regiments have been deployed to serve as law enforcer in replacement to Adeptus Arbites. Nallian was a general of the Krasuan Lion who had fought against the orks before the Hunger Wars. During the said war, he proved to be incapable of toppling the governor but still managed to keep the conflict going despite having less troop at his disposition thanks to popular support. The arrival of Sastar swung back the odds on his favor and was capable of gaining control of his homeworld. Under his leadership, Krasus became a vital weapon and ammunition producing site in the Free Realm. He also gained command of the Wakined warzone even though he isn’t on the planet and serve mostly as a figurehead of the Free Realm there. The true leadership of the warzone belongs to the ork freebooter warlord Kargraz Bladefist. He simply serves as a councillor and the acting commander of the Krasuan Lions operating under the orks on the planet. On a personal side, Nallian is known to be a very sanguine man with a powerful voice and a personality greater than life. He is a passionate man with a great love for competition, battle and sports. Though his affection for the later has diminished following the death of one of his sons in a sport riot. He is a widower and has three living daughters. One of which is pressuring him to create a female Corp of soldier on Krasus, but her father is a very traditional man on this issue. His attitude toward women, especially soldier women, has led him to have a relatively poor working relationship with Camellia Arabella.

Spy Mistress Captain Liana of Cardona

Captain Liana of Cardona is a member of the very reputable Cardonan Diplomatic Corp. She was selected to serve on the High Council as the leader of the Intelligence Services of the Free Realm thanks to her ground breaking academic result and her experience in highly controversial and dangerous spying operation. Liana has served as a double agent amongst numerous groups of pirates and was almost inducted within the fearsome Blood Knights. On this she has cooperated with the Inquisition and has served as an acolyte for a time. She is also an officer within the Diplomatic Corp with a spotless record even if still of low rank. Officially, very little is certain about her. Everything from her full name to her real age passing by her family history is erased. She has received rejuvenat treatments and doesn’t look older than 25. As the leader of the Intelligence Services, she has immense control over the state of the war and authority over much of the Free Realm military. She put in place an excellent network of spies within the Free Realm and amongst Imperial territory. The flagship of Lord Solar General Gracio has been infiltrated and some planet up to Vartarn, outside of the Rarken Cluster have also been infiltrated by a few of her hand picked agents, most of which who are Cardonans themselves. Her greatest accomplishment is the theft of a large portion of the plans of assault of Gaern as well as the exact date of the attack. She is currently preoccupied by three simultaneous operations. First, she and two regiments of the Cardonan Diplomatic Corp under her order have been deployed on Gaern to locate and neutralise the remaining Imperial forces that were left stranded and are attempting to mount a guerilla warfare on the fortress world. She especially fears assassination attempts against Arabella. She also oversees corruption and sabotage effort on Ferucia where she has established a network of traitorous Steel Legion units who are ready to help establish a beach-head on the planet. Finally, at her own initiative and approbation of Camellia, she has begun a similar work on Mishkar. Liana is a discrete and reserved person with impeccable manners, ideally suited for life as a diplomat or spy.

Cardinal Bastien VII of Rarken

Cardinal Bastien VII of Rarken is the highest religious authority in the Free Realm of Rarken and, technically, the entire Rarken Sector. As he has yet to be have been excommunicated by the Holy Synod of the Segmentum and have this excommunication by the Terran Synod, he still has authority on all bishops, priests, vicars, clerks, monks and nuns operating in the worlds outside of the Free Realm, but still in the Free Realm hands like Ceris, Ferucia or Mishkar. In practice though, these worlds are now temporarily under the control of Cardinal Olphean Saronus under the authority of the Reclamation Crusade. Bastien always was sympathetic to the cause of the Free Realm. He firmly believed that the increase in tithe was an irresponsible way to try to save some at the expanse of others and thus doomed to lose both in the long run. He used his great, but decaying influence to circumvent the tithe increase and even have it compensated by a lowering of the Ecclesiarchy tithe in resources to alleviate some of its effect, but to no use. During the Hunger Wars, Bastien became immensely popular on both side for diverting all of his asset to finance and man charitable and relief organisations that provided food, medicine and shelter for civilians and rebels and loyalist alike. He even managed to make the Sisters of Battle occupying Rarken to stand down and remain neutral. His faith to the Golden-Throne prevented him from openly joining the Free Realm until Sastar laid siege to his world. Negotiations ensued and resulted in Rarken joining the Free Realm and Bastien became their highest religious authority. The Sisters of Battle decided to send message to the Abbess of the Sisterhood for her decision regarding their chain of command and future actions, of course all knew she had disappeared centuries ago making the action a nice way to remain neutral in the conflict. Bastien VII is still busy providing relief and faith to all and is probably the most popular person in the sector beside Sastar himself. He is in no small part responsible for the cautious ad clement attitude of the Inquisition toward the Free Realm. On a personal note, Bastien is known to a veritable incarnation of love, tenderness and compassion for the downtrodden. His faith in humanity’s inherent good seems unshakable. He is known to be humble and rather funny in private conversation. He is one of the reason why the leadership of the Free Realm runs so smoothly.

Chapter Master Wargulf Kronor of the Red Fox Chapter

Chapter Master Wargulf Kronor is the supreme leader of the only Chapter of Space Marine operating under the Free Realm leadership. As such he was named member of the Council of the Free Realm. His Chapter, the Red Fox, is the only Space Marine Chapter having a Chapter world within the limits of the Rarken Cluster. The Red Fox, surprisingly, were affected by the increase in tithe when the Imperium decided, following an administrative error, to tithe their world of a sizable part of its young male population for the guard and some of its agricultural products. Obviously, the idea of a Chapter World being tithed in such a manner offended them greatly and was contested, but the administration refused to admit their error and sanctioned the Space Marine for assaulting the fleet dispatched to take the tithe and made a formal request for the Chapter to be declared excommunicated. Their leader, the bilious Kronor, didn’t wait for the Imperium to decide and cut his ties to the Imperium and threw his lot with the Free Realm of Rarken. The support of a full Chapter of Space Marines is essential for the survival of the Free Realm considering the importance of such a powerful ally. Kronor is a powerful Space Marine who has led his Chapter for over a century. He is easily recognisable thanks to his impressive size and musculature even for an Astartes and rarely split from his weapon, the Ork-Slayer, a giant power battle-axe he has used to kill so many orks the sight of the weapon can send them in full retreat. Kronor and the Red Fox haven’t been deployed much against the forces of the Imperium as they still dislike the idea of facing off against the soldiers of the Imperium who aren’t responsible for this fiasco. They have maintained some distant relations with the Blue Sun Chapter who also operate within the Rarken Cluster has a Fleet based Chapter. Kronor is a powerful and prideful warrior with a slight disdain for human warriors he perceives as too weak and a nuisance for Space Marines in general. He is known for his brutal, but cunning assaults. He is currently busy fighting back against the Forces of Chaos and some orks who have assaulted the Free Realm. He wishes for the success of the negotiations between the Free Realm and the Imperium as he senses that the Forces of Chaos are scheming for a return in force in the sector soon should the infighting continue.

Tech Priest Dominus Zukh Vagys of Zoron X

The Tech Priest Dominus Zukh Vagys is the representative of the Magocracy of Zoron X within the Free Realm of Rarken. His homeworld is the only Forge World in the sector and the only one to have joined the Free Realm, but its production is vital for the defense and prosperity of the Free Realm. The Forge World council joined the Free Realm with enthusiasm thanks to its more open policy about xenos then the Imperium. The Forge World has always been studying intensively xenos technology and long feared the sanction from Mars for technological heresy. Nevertheless, the magos of Zoron X, were also sympathetic to the suffering of the people of the Rarken Cluster and always had a great respect for human lives unlike many Magos. Zukh Vagys himself, was one of those most moved by the troubles lived by the people of Danatus and beyond, but also by the suffering of the machines and servitors who were overworked and under maintained to meet the draconian quota of production leading to many being destroyed. For the magos of Zoron X, the life of machine is also sacred and can’t be dispensed with so carelessness. They are sacred living being whose sacrifices and work should be honored and respected as much as the life of any human if not even more. Zoron X is busy developing and producing weapons and vehicle of high quality for the Free Realm all the while commanding its Skitarii Legion in defense of the Free Realm, opposing their counterparts on many occasion. Their preference for Rangers and precise firepower makes them extremely dangerous in defensive operation and their Reclamation Units allow the Free Realm to maintain a high level of advanced equipment despite their lower numbers. The Magos of Zoron X were also key in providing the Free Realm with minimally trustworthy xenos mercenaries to bolster their defense. Their studying of their technology also allowed some arcane weapons to be wielded by some specialised units of the Free Realm. Zukh Vagys himself is a curious and sympathetic man with a vast knowledge of many technology and an overwhelming passion for all advance form of technology. He can spend hours blabbering about the qualities and design of an auto-quill or a pattern of hot-shot lasgun. He is also a great xenophile and speaks very well numerous xeno language. He especially has a fondness for Vyrkanyi culture and technology and an almost morbid one for the Orks.

Auxiliary Forces of the Imperium


The Blue Sun Chapter

The Blue Sun Chapter was 22nd founding Chapter right after the Reign of Blood and was derived from Ultramarine geneseed. More specifically, it’s a splinter from the Genesys Chapter. It’s a fleet based Chapter set out to protect the fringes of the Rarken Sector to defend it especially against the Forces of Chaos that lie on its more southern frontier in the galactic map. It does possess a few keeps that serve as ammunition depos, logistical center, training and recruitment ground. The most important one is situated on Ulthan where a small fortified city is exclusively under their control. They also hold another one on Mishkar and a last one on Salamar. The Chapter recruits amongst the young boys of the nobility of all three planets. They usually take in their recruits extremely young, younger than in most Chapter, starting with infants that they will raise and train to be proper Space Marines or serfs should they fail to make the cut. They frequently accept young girls to serve as serfs and support personnel to facilitate training and the raising of those very young children in a proper manner. Implantation for geneseed usually starts a bit later then recommended at around the age of 14 to 16 years old. The Blue Sun heraldic consist of a shining sapphire blue armor with silver pauldrons and helmets. Crests and decorations are golden or amber. On the pauldrons, the sigil of the Chapter, a simple blue circle symbolising a proton star, can be seen. The Aquila on their chest is always golden. The Blue Sun Chapter always was very well provisioned and almost all their armors are the Errant pattern with helmets modified to have a tapered knight-like visor. The Blue Sun Chapter fleet is composed of several far-ranging and fast vessels designed for close firefights and boarding actions. Their only Battle Barge, the Photon, serve as their command center. The Blue Sun Chapter is known for its flexibility and favoring medium and short range firepower to defeat its enemies with their Sternguard veterans particularly well known for their discipline and unity even amongst the Adeptus Astartes. The entire Chapter is fighting beside the forces of the Imperium od the Reclamation Crusade, but have been used in a very limited fashion against the rebels. The fact that the Free Realm leadership has decided to leave their outpost on Ulthan untouched and secure has managed to gain a measure of sympathy from the Chapter which was already known for its very positive and dedicated nature toward the people of the Rarken Cluster. They are mostly concentrating their efforts in attacking the newly involved forces of Chaos to avoid the entire war zone to devolve into a three-way battle between the Imperium, the Free Realm and the forces of Chaos, a situation that would be disastrous for the first two.


Space Marines of the Iron Hand Clan Kaargul, Novamarines 2nd and 3rd Company, Genesis Battlegroup

These four Space Marine Chapters have all committed forces to the Reclamation Crusade and have accepted the operational leadership of the Blue Sun Chapter Master even though they retain a fierce independence. Each Chapter brings its own expertise and specialty to the battlefield and have been affected to various war zone. The Iron Hand Chapter, the most august of all Space Marine forces in the region, have joined the war effort after being petitioned by Entabor Colg and have fought side by side with the Skitarii on several occasion. The 4th Grand Clan has fought on numerous occasion the Free Realm Expeditionary forces, especially on Telka. They were held in reserve during the Gaern invasion and thus avoided a disaster. They are currently operating on Beacon where the small militia of the only fortress of the planet where quickly overrun by their armored assault. They are of course eager to launch an attack against a fiercer enemy like the magos of Zoron X, their actual target in the war. The Iron Hands remain feared, but distrusted by the Imperial Guard forces due to their relative carelessness toward human casualties even though their leader, Iron Captain Rumann, does seem to respect Lord General Tarrik Al Numsi. The Novamarines have sent a larger detachment with two full battle company, the second and the third. They have respond to a call of reinforcement from the Reclamation Crusade after the Free Realm brokered help from xeno mercenaries. The Second Company is now operating on Wakined where the need for a fast deploying elite force was very much needed and the battlefront where the largest concentration of Ork Freebooters can be found. They have for explicit mission to kill the Ork Warlord Kargraz Bladefist, but he managed to foil them twice thanks to the pure savagery and surprising cunning of the beast. Their third company has been deployed in one of the asteroid belt of the Lukar System, hunting for a small Dvergar pirate fleet operating in the area for the account of the Free Realm. It as had more success then their brothers in the 2nd company and already destroyed one of their ship and gained precious intelligence by stealing information from the data vaults of the xeno ship. The Novamarines, a normally very rare sight in the sector, have gained an excellent reputation and working relationship with the Imperial Guard command, but this doesn’t extend to other Space Marine Chapters, most notably the Iron Hands, with which they had small clashes. The Genesis Chapter sent a sizeable force in the early days of the Reclamation Crusade as the Ultramarine themselves were incapable of mustering a force to do so. Marneus Calgar thus requested the aid of the Genesis Chapter to help their neighbors in the Rarken Cluster restore order promptly. The battlegroup of the Genesis Chapter consists of elements drawn from four of its five reserve company. The Genesis Chapter, like the Blue Sun Chapter, has seen very little deployment against the Free Realm Forces and have focused their efforts in neutralising Lost and Damned ships as well as xeno mercenaries, successfully destroying two Ork Kill Kroozers.


Oryx Chapter 4th demi-Company

The Oryx Chapter is a descendant of the White Scar Chapter founded 2000 years ago based upon the arid world of Zoyango. Its fortress world lays close to the Maelstrom and as such has been used mostly to fight off pirates, Chaos Renegades and a few minor xeno races, most notably the Lorths. Due to its wide variety of enemies and the extremes of weather and terrain of their Chapter World, the Oryx are known to be an extremely adaptable Chapter. The Chapter is known for its field craft and for slightly deviating from standard doctrine by giving the duty of Scout to veterans while their recruits are passing their class in Devastator squads. Due to these peculiarities, it without surprise that it as gained a reputation for its ambush and guerilla tactics behind enemy lines. The Oryx Chapter heraldic consists of a tan armor with darker brown pauldrons with black okapi-like stripes on the legs and arms. The sigil of the Chapter is the bleached white skull of an horned antelope from which they derive their name. The highlights of the armor are usually dark amber or jet black. While the Oryx do make extensive use of Scout Armor, they favor the Corvus Armor for their power armored Space Marine and have only 5 intact set of Terminator Armors. The Oryx Chapter has retained a very tribal organisation from the White Scar ancestors and a shamanistic cult toward the Emperor and numerous mystical practices. They do not shy in front of psykers and their librarians are highly respected. They have conflictual relationship with human forces. They have a tendency to operate very well with the Imperial Guard light infantry forces and even militias, but dislike the forces of the Mechanicus. The Oryx Chapter is frequently deployed in small numbers with sabotage, reconnaissance and assassination as objective. They provided only a demi-company to the Reclamation Crusade who were part of the assault on Gaern and miraculously managed to pull out as they were about to be ambushed and destroyed by the Gaern Guard. They are currently fighting behind enemy lines on Telka, trying to slow down the forces of the Free Realm.



The Commandery of Saint Lisa of the Order of the Ebon Chalice, Preceptory of the Emperor’s Mercy Hospital of the Order of Serenity

The Commandery of Saint Lisa was based on Janus and belongs to the Holy Order of the Ebon Chalice. It’s the only presence of the Militant Branch of the Sisterhood fighting beside the Reclamation Crusade. Officially the Ecclesiarchy hasn’t recognised the Free Realm as heretical, only as rebellious. As such the ability to launch a Faith War was limited and the Sisterhood ill inclined to send troops in the area considering their very limited numbers. The Adepta Sororitas itself largely views the entire Free Realm debacle as fiasco brought by an incompetent decision from the Segmentum Administratum in a time of crisis. Despite this, the Commandery of Saint Lisa was deployed in support to troops from Janus. Composed of Celestian and Seraphim with a lengthy experience of war against the forces of Chaos, this fighting force, despite its very small size is immensely dangerous. In effect, the Commandery was mostly deployed to insure the protection to the Preceptory of the Emperor’s Mercy Hospital of the Order of Serenity which sent thousands of Hospitaliers Sisters in the area to feed, clean and cure wounded soldiers and refugees. They have been essential in keeping the peace in recently liberated zones and have been largely protected and left undisturbed by the Free Realm forces despite a now notorious incident on Lukar where a bombing run struck one of their campaign hospital. Both Order of Sister have yet to make contact with the Commandery of the Order of the Sacred Rose based on Rarken, but do have for mission to call them for help for Reclamation Crusade. While the Sisters do have excellent relationship with most Imperial Guard forces, they remain reluctant to engage on occasion, a very rare thing for the Sisterhood in general.


The Neo-Ferucian 1st Macroclade Skitarii

After the Forge World of Ferucia was depleted enough for the Mechanicus to abandon it, it was moved to a neighboring system outside of the Rarken cluster, but still close enough to maintain ties with it. The new Forge World was named Neo-Ferucia and proceeded to develop pretty much the same industries and continue their work on a new setting. The high volcanism of Neo-Ferucia allows it to fuel in energy and rare alloys the forges which are now more productive then ever. The Neo-Ferucians are extremely conservative by Mechanicus standards and revere the Machine with an immense fervor all the while being disgusted by the flesh, perceiving it as weak and impure. As such, the priesthood there maintains only the very smallest amount of actual flesh and blood as to not fall into heresy. Their new world is not only highly volcanic, but also highly irradiated. Its Skitarii are known to be heavily mechanised and their Vanguards to be deadlier and more numerous than most. The 1st Macroclade itself is composed of only the deadliest and most experimented Skitarii from Neo-Ferucia with the mission to purge Zoron X of its xeno loving priests. For now, the Neo-Ferucian have been separated n several legions and spread on Lukar, Telka and Beacon. On Beacon, they have been conducting a quasi extermination program of the local population in the back of the rest of the leadership of the Reclamation Crusade. On Lukar, they have proven to be indomitable and extremely precious in maintaining the pressure on the Free Realm forces. The short range and devastating firepower have been invaluable in this most brutal battlefield. On Telka and Gaern, they have suffered heavy losses as their column was successfully ambushed by the most elite regiments of the Gaern Guard who proceeded to massacre them. They did manage to operate a flawless retreat and save enough of their numbers to be operational in the defense of Telka, but suffered a second defeat recently when the Gaern Guard and the Korrylian Questing Knights fought them in the teal fields of Dacius. The support of the forces of Neo-Ferucia is essential to the Reclamation Crusade, but the fact they carry their own objective and vendetta has caused trouble. Should the extermination of the population of Beacon came to the hears of the Blue Sun Chapter or the Sisterhood, it could create intestine combat within the Imperial forces and Gracio, who has learned of such an action recently, is still reflecting on the best course of action to maintain his leadership and moral intact.


Tempestus Scion Psian Dryad 10Th 5th Omegon Hydra 20th and 25th

The Militarum Tempestus has provided 4 regiments from two different Scholam and Tempestus Academy to serve as special operation forces. The Imperial Guard and the Ordo Tempestus are like conjoined twins and operate together on almost all major battlefield. The presence of several elite regiments within the Reclamation Crusade like the White Howls, the Zentic Tigers, Ahënor Guard, Eltradan Riflemen or the Sardokarian Shock Trooper could have compensated for their absence, but the Ordo Tempestus considered it their honor and duty to bring back Gaern into the fold and defeat the few regiments of theirs who have joined the Free Realm forces. The Psian Dryads are from well outside the Rarken Cluster and are mostly known for their operation against xeno forces, mostly orks, and for their excellent work in lengthy ground operations. The men and women fighting under their black, white and green banner are especially reputable as sharpshooters. Both regiments were to be deployed on Wakined, but one of them, the 5th, was rerouted to the Gaern operation where they were almost wiped-out by their traitorous counterpart. The 10th has joined the fight on Wakined and fight side by side with the Novamarines. The Space Marines remain in reserve, counting on the Scions to do the ground work and finally make a successful drop on the Ork warlord position and kill him. The Omegon Hydra are known mostly for their subversive tactics, expert at infiltration, stealth drop and sabotage. Currently, they are serving in reserve tracking enemy infiltrators and spies and serving as close bodyguards for the High Command of the Crusade itself. In such a position they have served sparingly, but have been recently deployed on both Ferucia where rumors of a potential uprising have been persistent. Of course, the forces of the Ordo Tempestus have an excellent working relationship with the other branches of the Imperium military within the Reclamation Crusade and fall under the direct command of Commissar Lord Macharius.