A Clash Against the Deathguard

Over the weekend it was my pal Ron's birthday. For the event myself, Ed, Josh and Ron assembled our armies to face off against each other. Ed and me formed a Mechanics-Space wolves alliance, while the Orks ran alongside the Deathguard. 

It was a close game with 3000 points a side. In the end the survivability of the Deathguard won the game. One lonely Deathguard model held the objective allowing the forces of Chaos to prevail over the forces of man.

Not having faced off against orks too much in the past, it was great to see the might of a Stompa on the battlefield. Intimidating and huge; it was a sight to behold.

Vlees and Jostien, the eldest and youngest leaders of the Canis Aureus.

The Ritual

Renegades and the lost had collected from all parts of the galaxy to hear the great one speak. Once a proud member of the imperium, like all astartes, his vision had changed. His skull, massive, bare and broken was a sight to behold. Long absent were his needs to communicate using the words of man. Now Vlees relied on far greater stimuli. No longer possessing eyes, his large cranium had built upon his nerve endings and sensory glands. The ancient's hearing and smell was unmatched among his rivals and peers. Proudly he had led his renegade forces from the warp to face off against the Tau and Eldar alliance. In his victory, he discovered that his chapter of origin were not only still active but also disgraced. Furious, Vlees gathered his warband of renegades and placed them under banner of his chapter. Deserters from the Emperor's Children, the Deathguard, the Thousand Sons, some Khorne beserkers and many other factions had chosen to follow their Lord over the centuries. Now they served the Canis Aureus, the Chapter out to get revenge on everyone for the treachery that had been committed against them. As he rose from his mighty throne of soul stone, Vlees commanded his legion to disembark and prepare to face the green skin menace that approached. Eager and cunning, the green skins had acted as a diversion for the Deathguard's more malevolent plans. Being one of the original Chapter's founders and firm battle brothers with the original High Jackal, Vlees had gained acceptance despite his altered state. Even under his horrific transformation, his stance and manner had remained unchanged. Slowly he strode down the long hallway of the Garmr, with the same pride and commanding the same respect as he had done over nine thousand years ago.

Gottfried had been waiting for a chance to fell the greenskins again. It was how he had spent the last three decades as a Freeblade under the service of the Imperium. His mighty Knight had been torn down and rebuilt more times than he could remember. The pilot's right arm, both legs, as well of a portion of his internal organs had been replaced with cybernetics across the years of conflict. As the last noble of House Aureus, he had taken these wounds with pride. He had hoped to clean the Aureus name with his efforts. After two decades it was clear that no matter how many green skins he eradicated there would be no promotion or acceptance of his heritage or that of his lost home world. As he began his advance on the colossal stompa before him, he was filled with pride. Never did he dream he would be fighting alongside the astartes of his home world. Working alongside the Ancient's legion drove him to seek greater glory. Thermal cannon belching forth molten hellfire, the knight collided with the metal beast before him. Lifting his reaper chainsword high, he cleaved chunk after chunk from it. Large sections of metal crashed into the ground, creating large clouds of fetid noxious fumes. The taint of the Deathguard was evident.
The belly of the Stompa was now open, from within burst forth a Horde of orks along with their mighty Warboss. They pulled the noble to the ground tearing and chopping at his legs. From the inside of his wreck he could see the mechanicus support drawing the green skins from his wreckage. Laughing, he knew he would get to live another day.
Crushing the once lush tropical vegetation underfoot, the mutated Chaos Lord crashed into the bloated, fetid landscape. Their strongest ally down, he knew it was time to give his aid and help turn the tide of battle. Firing his storm bolter and grenades from his custom-built power fist, he made his presence known. Inspired by his descent the marines piled out of their rhino and collided with the decaying lord before them. With the supporting fire of the Adeptus Mechanicus, the champion fell and his bodyguard soon after. Vlees turned his bloated weeping sockets upward and absorbed the sounds of mighty engine ahead. The stormfang gunship launched all of its ordinance into the gorkanaut next to him. As it tore the last of the first and second marine squad apart, the impact of the volley hit. The walker buckled and collapsed, leaving only one of the twenty jackal hunters standing. Surveying the disease ridden corpses of his brothers before him, Vlees silently commanded the remaining marine to begin incinerating the area. In the distance he could hear the lone surviving Deathguard marine finish his ritual. Even though the battle of might had been won, they had managed to stall the Aureus forces. The ritual was complete. He was was coming.