The First Poxwar: Difference between revisions

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{{quote|"Seven times shall the Putridum Bells of the Grandfather ring, heralding the birth of your feculence. Eternity will rot and fester under the hordes of disease and decay, the Gold Walls breached and forced open. Those that dwell beyond shall kneel as the air creeps with infection and the ground melts, the Daemon shall lie with the machine, brother infecting brother with the glories of the Grandfather. The putrid wound pours its malice forth. The rotted herald his malfeasance, his gifts. The fate of Eternity shall be decided on holy infected soil."

Excerpt from the Liber Contagione}}

| -Excerpt from the Liber Contagione}}

== Overview ==

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== The Bubonic Rift Bursts ==

[[File:First Poxwar Invasion.jpg|thumb|Initial invasion during the First Poxwar]]

The Putrilocus subsector had long been lost to the Imperium, locked and hidden away by the warp with the only route to and from lying within a small region of space permeated with warp-storms and the exits guarded by orbiting Imperial void fortresses and fleets, with any ship not marked by Nurgle doomed if they dared try to travel through the storms. The invasion began with these warp-storms coalescing into a burgeoning rift, which rapidly grew to encompass all space nearby even touched by the periphery of the storms, swallowing whole fleets and stations and sucking them into the warp. So rapid was this growth that no station or fleet had even enough time to send a distress call, with the first time the Imperium was even aware being when long range scanners saw the sickly green rift swirling as invasion fleets arrived in orbit over nearby worlds.

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The next target of the Rotbelchers with similar aims to the invasion of Edgeview was the hive world NuberrLen. A lethally cold world with hive cities protected by ancient archeotech domes, NuberrLen suddenly found itself attacked from within, with hordes of cultists rising up to overthrow the Imperial defenders. The brutal climate prevented combat outside the domes, with the rebellion taking full advantage of that and conquering two domes while pushing into others. The cultists had chosen their targets wisely, with their domes holding the primary military port and ammunition held for Makerus, any attack would bog down Imperials for years. Realizing the trap the Rotbelchers had set, the Crimson Hammer leading the defense opted to cut the knot and instead of assaulting the domes through the rail tunnels connecting the dome network they relied on their armor to carry through the temperatures that would freeze anyone else in seconds. Cutting into each dome, the Hammer strike forces sliced a path through cultist patrols to the ammunition depot and spaceport fuel stores, setting demolition charges. Leaving through the same holes they cut, they detonated the charges and watched as the fallen domes exploded and collapsed. Without their protection, NuberrLen's blizzards burst into the hives, freezing the cultist armies in a flash. They had successfully defeated the trap, but NuberrLen's use for the war effort ceased.

[[File:SectorEternum1stPoxwarZenith.jpg|thumb|The Rotbelcher's Furthest Occupation]]

== Zenith of Corruption ==

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The Imperial fleets waited near the [[Mandeville points]], prepared for the first ships of Chaos to appear and hoping to strike a critical blow against the first wave, were surprised when a fleet of civilian ships arrived. Hesitant to fire as several Ecclesiarchy pilgrim fleets were already part of the forces in orbit, the Imperial ships demanded identification, the new arrival's engines cut, and held their fire. Claiming to be pilgrims from the world [[Meridia]] and having proper Meridian ship registrations, their dialect and manner of speaking felt off to Lord Admiral Buchanan and this feeling was only reinforced by the supposed pilgrim fleet's drifting towards the flagship and the core of the collective Battlefleet. Trusting his intuition Lord Admiral Buchanan ordered the fleet engaged, and as the first macrocannon rounds hurled towards the civilian ships they revealed their true colors and praised Nurgle. The traitor ruse had been discovered, but not before masses of small civilian transport ships and jury-rigged boarding torpedoes flew out of each vessel as they were destroyed, all hurdling towards the nearest Imperial vessel. Imperial fighters raced to engage the craft as Line Ship and Escorts alike lit up with point defense weaponry, but for every one destroyed five more met their target and boarded. Some filled with cultists, some with traitor Guard, and others with nurglings and lesser daemons, independently no match for the seasoned armsmen of the Imperial Navy, collectively they began fighting and sabotaging any systems they could reach. Although not as effective as they planned, the boarding still was the distraction needed and the Rotfleet proper translated en masse to begin the attack proper. As ships in the Battlefleet fought with wave after wave of lance and macrocannon fire, their armsmen fought the original boarders as new strike craft and boarding torpedoes arrived to deliver plague marines and other seasoned traitors. Vessel after vessel exploded, Imperial and Traitor alike, as the Rotfleet pushed further into the system. Their most pestilent ships, reinforced through dark blessings tanked hit after hit, dealing as much damage to the Imperials as they to it, and continued their inexorable advance towards Absolution. The orbital defense platforms and ground mounted guns joined in the brutal Naval battle, but the Rotfleet had reached their goal. As the naval battle raged, the plague ships and masses of transport craft began unloading drop pods and landing craft, turning the sunny skies over Absolution into night through sheer volume. The invasion of Absolution had begun.

Concentrating their landing forces at the Gennlach fortress complex, the raw masses of Rotbelchers overwhelmed the Guard regiments defending and carved a central landing zone for the tide of the arriving servants of Nurgle. Absolution contained rings of fortress complexes separated by dried lake beds termed Lochs, all clustered around the central Fortress Monastery, with orbital defenses in each along with isolated fortress complexes spread throughout the world. Taking advantage of their inlay at Gennlach, the Rotbelchers began to send their hordes towards the other fortresses surrounding the monastery while sorcerers diverted to begin their foul work in the towns and villages that dotted the world. Quickly overwhelming the auxiliary forces defending what had been classed a tertiary defense priority, the sorcerers turned the civilians cowering in their homes into more charnel ritual components and zombies. Two thirds of the civilians of Absolution would be turned against their stewards this way, either as Poxwalkers to absorb fire from battlements or used to bring forth daemons.

Concentrating their landing forces at the Gennlach fortress complex, the raw masses of Rotbelchers overwhelmed the Guard regiments defending and carved a central landing zone for the tide of the arriving servants of Nurgle. Absolution contained rings of fortress complexes separated by dried lake beds termed Lochs, all clustered around the central Fortress Monastery Absolution's Reflection, with orbital defenses in each along with isolated fortress complexes spread throughout the world. Taking advantage of their inlay at Gennlach, the Rotbelchers began to send their hordes towards the other fortresses surrounding the monastery while sorcerers diverted to begin their foul work in the towns and villages that dotted the world. Quickly overwhelming the auxiliary forces defending what had been classed a tertiary defense priority, the sorcerers turned the civilians cowering in their homes into more charnel ritual components and zombies. Two thirds of the civilians of Absolution would be turned against their stewards this way, either as Poxwalkers to absorb fire from battlements or used to bring forth daemons.

As the Rotbelchers advanced across Absolution they breached the outer walls of the massive Fortress Monastery and turned the once holy walls into fierce melees, corrupting and destroying as they went. Holy archives and defense controlling cogitators fell as the outer Monastery fell to the Rotbelchers. Fights continued in other Lochs and fortresses, but the core of the Rotbelchers faced the core of the Crimson Hammer in the final wall protecting the Monastery proper. The assault began, and scores of defenders were picked off by plague-sorcery, blight drones and bolter fire, while whole hordes of chaff were slaughtered by defensive emplacements. Bringing their most powerful ground weaponry, the Rotbelchers began trying to break the inner wall. The wall built with the best craftsmanship known by the Crimson Hammer took hit after hit, standing firm each time. Making no progress and suffering brutal losses, the Rotbelchers turned to the sky for help breaking the resolute wall.

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 {{quote|"Seven times shall the Putridum Bells of the Grandfather ring, heralding the birth of your feculence. Eternity will rot and fester under the hordes of disease and decay, the Gold Walls breached and forced open. Those that dwell beyond shall kneel as the air creeps with infection and the ground melts, the Daemon shall lie with the machine, brother infecting brother with the glories of the Grandfather. The putrid wound pours its malice forth. The rotted herald his malfeasance, his gifts. The fate of Eternity shall be decided on holy infected soil."
-Excerpt from the Liber Contagione}}
+| -Excerpt from the Liber Contagione}}
 == Overview ==
@@ Line 9: / Line 9: @@
 == The Bubonic Rift Bursts ==
+[[File:First Poxwar Invasion.jpg|thumb|Initial invasion during the First Poxwar]]
 The Putrilocus subsector had long been lost to the Imperium, locked and hidden away by the warp with the only route to and from lying within a small region of space permeated with warp-storms and the exits guarded by orbiting Imperial void fortresses and fleets, with any ship not marked by Nurgle doomed if they dared try to travel through the storms. The invasion began with these warp-storms coalescing into a burgeoning rift, which rapidly grew to encompass all space nearby even touched by the periphery of the storms, swallowing whole fleets and stations and sucking them into the warp. So rapid was this growth that no station or fleet had even enough time to send a distress call, with the first time the Imperium was even aware being when long range scanners saw the sickly green rift swirling as invasion fleets arrived in orbit over nearby worlds.
@@ Line 42: / Line 43: @@
 The next target of the Rotbelchers with similar aims to the invasion of Edgeview was the hive world NuberrLen. A lethally cold world with hive cities protected by ancient archeotech domes, NuberrLen suddenly found itself attacked from within, with hordes of cultists rising up to overthrow the Imperial defenders. The brutal climate prevented combat outside the domes, with the rebellion taking full advantage of that and conquering two domes while pushing into others. The cultists had chosen their targets wisely, with their domes holding the primary military port and ammunition held for Makerus, any attack would bog down Imperials for years. Realizing the trap the Rotbelchers had set, the Crimson Hammer leading the defense opted to cut the knot and instead of assaulting the domes through the rail tunnels connecting the dome network they relied on their armor to carry through the temperatures that would freeze anyone else in seconds. Cutting into each dome, the Hammer strike forces sliced a path through cultist patrols to the ammunition depot and spaceport fuel stores, setting demolition charges. Leaving through the same holes they cut, they detonated the charges and watched as the fallen domes exploded and collapsed. Without their protection, NuberrLen's blizzards burst into the hives, freezing the cultist armies in a flash. They had successfully defeated the trap, but NuberrLen's use for the war effort ceased.
+[[File:SectorEternum1stPoxwarZenith.jpg|thumb|The Rotbelcher's Furthest Occupation]]
 == Zenith of Corruption ==
@@ Line 70: / Line 72: @@
 The Imperial fleets waited near the [[Mandeville points]], prepared for the first ships of Chaos to appear and hoping to strike a critical blow against the first wave, were surprised when a fleet of civilian ships arrived. Hesitant to fire as several Ecclesiarchy pilgrim fleets were already part of the forces in orbit, the Imperial ships demanded identification, the new arrival's engines cut, and held their fire. Claiming to be pilgrims from the world [[Meridia]] and having proper Meridian ship registrations, their dialect and manner of speaking felt off to Lord Admiral Buchanan and this feeling was only reinforced by the supposed pilgrim fleet's drifting towards the flagship and the core of the collective Battlefleet. Trusting his intuition Lord Admiral Buchanan ordered the fleet engaged, and as the first macrocannon rounds hurled towards the civilian ships they revealed their true colors and praised Nurgle. The traitor ruse had been discovered, but not before masses of small civilian transport ships and jury-rigged boarding torpedoes flew out of each vessel as they were destroyed, all hurdling towards the nearest Imperial vessel. Imperial fighters raced to engage the craft as Line Ship and Escorts alike lit up with point defense weaponry, but for every one destroyed five more met their target and boarded. Some filled with cultists, some with traitor Guard, and others with nurglings and lesser daemons, independently no match for the seasoned armsmen of the Imperial Navy, collectively they began fighting and sabotaging any systems they could reach. Although not as effective as they planned, the boarding still was the distraction needed and the Rotfleet proper translated en masse to begin the attack proper. As ships in the Battlefleet fought with wave after wave of lance and macrocannon fire, their armsmen fought the original boarders as new strike craft and boarding torpedoes arrived to deliver plague marines and other seasoned traitors. Vessel after vessel exploded, Imperial and Traitor alike, as the Rotfleet pushed further into the system. Their most pestilent ships, reinforced through dark blessings tanked hit after hit, dealing as much damage to the Imperials as they to it, and continued their inexorable advance towards Absolution. The orbital defense platforms and ground mounted guns joined in the brutal Naval battle, but the Rotfleet had reached their goal. As the naval battle raged, the plague ships and masses of transport craft began unloading drop pods and landing craft, turning the sunny skies over Absolution into night through sheer volume. The invasion of Absolution had begun.
-Concentrating their landing forces at the Gennlach fortress complex, the raw masses of Rotbelchers overwhelmed the Guard regiments defending and carved a central landing zone for the tide of the arriving servants of Nurgle. Absolution contained rings of fortress complexes separated by dried lake beds termed Lochs, all clustered around the central Fortress Monastery, with orbital defenses in each along with isolated fortress complexes spread throughout the world. Taking advantage of their inlay at Gennlach, the Rotbelchers began to send their hordes towards the other fortresses surrounding the monastery while sorcerers diverted to begin their foul work in the towns and villages that dotted the world. Quickly overwhelming the auxiliary forces defending what had been classed a tertiary defense priority, the sorcerers turned the civilians cowering in their homes into more charnel ritual components and zombies. Two thirds of the civilians of Absolution would be turned against their stewards this way, either as Poxwalkers to absorb fire from battlements or used to bring forth daemons.
+Concentrating their landing forces at the Gennlach fortress complex, the raw masses of Rotbelchers overwhelmed the Guard regiments defending and carved a central landing zone for the tide of the arriving servants of Nurgle. Absolution contained rings of fortress complexes separated by dried lake beds termed Lochs, all clustered around the central Fortress Monastery Absolution's Reflection, with orbital defenses in each along with isolated fortress complexes spread throughout the world. Taking advantage of their inlay at Gennlach, the Rotbelchers began to send their hordes towards the other fortresses surrounding the monastery while sorcerers diverted to begin their foul work in the towns and villages that dotted the world. Quickly overwhelming the auxiliary forces defending what had been classed a tertiary defense priority, the sorcerers turned the civilians cowering in their homes into more charnel ritual components and zombies. Two thirds of the civilians of Absolution would be turned against their stewards this way, either as Poxwalkers to absorb fire from battlements or used to bring forth daemons.
 As the Rotbelchers advanced across Absolution they breached the outer walls of the massive Fortress Monastery and turned the once holy walls into fierce melees, corrupting and destroying as they went. Holy archives and defense controlling cogitators fell as the outer Monastery fell to the Rotbelchers. Fights continued in other Lochs and fortresses, but the core of the Rotbelchers faced the core of the Crimson Hammer in the final wall protecting the Monastery proper. The assault began, and scores of defenders were picked off by plague-sorcery, blight drones and bolter fire, while whole hordes of chaff were slaughtered by defensive emplacements. Bringing their most powerful ground weaponry, the Rotbelchers began trying to break the inner wall. The wall built with the best craftsmanship known by the Crimson Hammer took hit after hit, standing firm each time. Making no progress and suffering brutal losses, the Rotbelchers turned to the sky for help breaking the resolute wall.