Lord Xaphan

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    Prior to Conversion to Chaos: His Holiness, Cardinal-Astral Scarus After his Conversion to Chaos: Apostate-Cardinal, Arch-Heretic, Despoiler of Vraks  
    
 Lord Xaphan was the successor to the former Cardinal-Astral, Borja, to whom he was a former protégé, and whom aided his rise through the Adeptus Ministorum. He was enthroned as Cardinal-Astral Scarus on San Artorus. Before taking his place in the council chamber, he took upon a pilgrimage to visit his new diocese including the shrines and cathedrals of the Scarus sector, where he preached that all those under his domain were being as well protected as possible. The pilgrimage took 5 years, and his full entourage was over a thousand strong, consisting of preachers, deacons, chatelaines, and menials. This number also included his bodyguard of Adeptus Sororitas sisters, a gift from the Abbess of the Order of the Argent Shroud. Even fanatics of the Redemptionists joined his entourage, where they believed Lord Xaphan was on a crusade to rid the sector of heresy, supposedly sent by The Emperor himself. When he visited the planet of Thracian Primaris, the Cardinals sermons were attacked by thousands of rioting frateris and hundreds were killed as the Adeptus Sororitas and the Adeptus Arbites restored order. Even so, he continued to attract followers, some even going as far to call him a messiah. It was here that Xaphan began to realise his power, and his voiced his concerns to Deacon Mamon. The Cardinal-Astral knew that he had it within his capability to start a holy war against the enemies of the Imperium, but the Inquisition would not be so tolerant, especially by the Ordo Hereticus. The Witch Hunters had banned the Ecclesiarchy from commanding armed men, a ban enforced since the Age of Apostasy, caused by another Cardinal - Vandire. Mamon suggested that Lord Xaphan should choose a secure location from which to potentially plan his war of faith ʹ the chosen planet was called Vraks, a Departmento Munitorum Armoury World. It was also the site for the Basilica of St Leonis the Blind. It would be the final stop on the Cardinals pilgrimage, where the attached Cardinal Palace would be his new home.        After landing on Vraks, and completing the pilgrimage, all seemed to be well, until he retired to the Palace, where he sealed himself in with his inner circle of trusted advisors, including the Deacon Mamon. The Battle Sisters of the Order of the Argent Shroud took up residence in a small priory next to the Basilica of St. Leonis, where they formed an Honour Guard to the saint͛s bony relics.

Needing an army to fully realise his crusade, Cardinal-Astral Scarus Xaphan ordered his trusted preachers and deacons to spread the word that Vraks was potentially under threat, creating a frateris militia. Lord Xaphan was now well and truly the planets saviour, and the mob͛s messiah to protect them from heretic forces. It was at this time that the most loyal of Xaphan͛s followers, his inner circle took up the name ͞Disciples of Xaphan͟, led by Deacon Mamon, and including the commanders of the frateris militia, and the Steward of the Citadel. With the highest members of the military of Vraks now under his control, in all but name so that the ban had not been broken, Xaphan͛s gospel had spread to even the labour gangs and penal workers, leaving only the Adeptus Arbites precinct outside of his control. However, with this new power and obvious attempt to bypass the ban placed on the Ecclesiarchy, the Ordo Hereticus were forced into action, and they signed the Cardinal͛s death warrant. A Vindicare Assassin had been secretly deployed onto Vraks, entering the citadel disguised as a pilgrim. His first shot with his sniper rifle destroyed a decorative pillar, but the shot was eventually stopped by the refractor field hidden in Xaphan͛s rosarius. The sniper͛s follow up shots killed two of the Cardinal͛s guards, and in his flight, the assassin killed an acolyte preacher. The soldiers in the vicinity gave chase, forcing him into a dead end, where the assassin killed at least five more guards before being shot. The vindicare assassin was labelled as a traitor, and the resulting riots lasted for over a week before the Adeptus Arbites precinct was overrun. With the law enforcement gone, the chain gangs working in the labour zones started looting the armouries, and their guards either fled or fought back, only to have their orders countermanded by Xaphan͛s officials. The Master-Prefect of Vraks was killed as he attempted to flee to his shuttle, and the Prioress of the Order of the Argent Shroud was arrested along with those of her battle sisters who were captured during the fighting. They were interred in the dungeons while the former occupants became yet more soldiers for Xaphan͛s army. Finally, the censorium tower was attacked and the resident Astropaths killed. Vraks had fallen, and Xaphan had now fallen to chaos completely. þ  
 [See also: The Siege of Vraks] In the power vacuum that followed his ascent as the sole leader on Vraks, months of infighting between the rebels foundered a new order, the strongest and most dedicated joining the ͞Disciples of Xaphan͟. Realising that a retaliatory attack was a case of when, and not if, Xaphan decreed that Vraks was to become a slaughterhouse. Defence lines were reinforced, new minefields planted, laying razor wire, weapons drill, and practising ranging shots with artillery were the focus of rebel forces. It was estimated that over 8 million troops made up Xaphan͛s forces. Included among these were rogue psykers, released from the prisons, who apparently gave visions and prophecies to the Cardinal, proclaiming they were from the gods.

After several years of fighting, Space Marines wearing dark blue power armour were found to be fighting alongside the Vraksian renegades ʹ they were the warriors of Lord Arkos, a former champion of the Alpha Legion. Lord Arkos soon became one of Xaphan͛s most powerful allies, with his promise of yet more Traitor Legionnaires. After nine years, and despite the full encirclement, and breach of the second defensive line around the citadel, Xaphan had lost interest in the success of the campaign. Instead, it would promise only greater slaughter, and with the advice provided by Lord Arkos, its continuation would become a bloody sacrifice to the dark gods of Chaos. Conjured by sorcerers within the Alpha Legionnaires, the sky turned to a red and black mass of clouds. With the coming of yet more chaos space marines, Cardinal Xaphan͛s position became gradually weaker, as the traitor legionnaires were not under his direct control. With the planetfall blocking th off access to the Krieg 19 Siege Regiment, Xaphan took to hiding in the heart of the citadel, as greater powers at work took control over each of their factions in a loose alliance. Even Lord Arkos of the Alpha Legion did little to establish control. Only Deacon Mamon stayed loyal to Xaphan, with his appointment to the Disciples of Xaphan. Over the years of warfare, Xaphan had hoarded his stocks of a deadly chemical weapon, known as TP-III, in the event that the Siege Regiments should break through, to be used as a weapon of last resort. Instead, the followers of Nurgle ʹ Chaos Space Marine Warbands known as the Lords of Decay, and the Apostles of Contagion ʹ decided that the trapped guardsmen should become a sacrifice to their god in a matter that was pleasing to him. Despite fighting for the same cause, the armoury guards were attacked by the Chaos Space Marines, who seized the TP-III, who then unleashed it on the men of Krieg. Their use of the toxin destroyed the defence and killed the men of Krieg. Indeed, by the time that Marshal Kagori took command of the 88th Siege Army, it was deemed that Cardinal Xaphan was superfluous to the sieges continuation ʹ even an Officio Assassinorum operative killing Xaphan would not end, or at least quicken the end. The defenders were by now too dedicated to the Chaos Gods, and with the Chaos Space Marine Warmasters present, they had likely taken command. þ  It was especially apparent that Xaphan was purely a symbolic leader with the coming of Lord Zhufor of the Skulltakers. Having secured control of the largest and most powerful faction on Vraks, the follower of Khorne decided to attack the other traitor marines if they did not follow him. This show of strength left only Lord Arkos and his Alpha Legion as potential enemies, but to save his warband, Arkos made a deal with Zhufor, to give him the Cardinal, who had trapped himself in his fortress. With his Disciples slain by the Alpha Legionnaires and rampaging Terminators loyal to Zhufor, the Apostate-Cardinal Xaphan was taken alive and thrown into his own dungeons, much like he had done in his fall to his enemies.

Before Lord Zhufor left the Siege of Vraks, he had given the Cardinal to the sorcerers loyal to Nurgle, who had transformed him into a Chaos Spawn, finding a form that was pleasing to their god. He had turned insane in the madness that ensued from his change, and was now little better than a beast. He was slain by the Grey Knights as they cleared the inner defences.     Cardinal-Astral Borja Deacon Mamon Lord Arkos c  Birth ʹ Unknown Death ʹ 830.M41   ͞The Scarus sector is a tinderbox ʹ one spark may soon become a great conflagration. I shall light the fires.͟ ͞When the maelstrom descends, Vraks shall overflow with blood and skulls, and even the dead shall find no peace. Millions shall be sacrificed in their names, and the true gods shall rejoice... I have seen it, for I am the messiah of the coming apocalypse.͟ ! " Lord Xaphan had no known military equipment, other than a Refractor Field disguised as a Rosarius. He currently has no models or rules officially made for him, and it͛s unlikely that there will be any due to his general non-combatant role, and with Forge World having moved on from the Siege of Vraks.      This was Xaphan͛s most loyal core of followers during the uprising, filled with men picked by himself or his closest advisors such as Deacon Mamon, who would then go on to become the commander of the Disciples. By the start of the Siege of Vraks, there were an estimated 50,000 members of the Disciples. It is theorised that Deacon Mamon had formed them at the behest of Lord Arkos, and that Mamon himself was a sleeper agent of the Alpha Legion warband, The Faithless. In the game of Warhammer 40,000, they can be found in a couple of variant army lists. They are rarely accepted for tournament use, being found in Imperial Armour books. ‘ Imperial Armour Volume V ʹ The Siege of Vraks part I ‘ The Defenders of Vraks ‘ Imperial Armour Volume VI ʹ The Siege of Vraks part II ‘ Servants of Slaughter ‘ Imperial Armour Volume VII ʹ The Siege of Vraks part III ‘ Servants of Decay

In all three lists in which they are present, Disciples of Xaphan are Elite choices, with a stat line similar to that of Imperial Guard Veterans, although they are slightly more expensive, due to their elevated leadership value. They can choose to be equipped with Lasguns, Autoguns, Shotguns, or Laspistols and Close Combat Weapons, and are armoured in Flak Armour. Like Imperial Guard Veterans, they have wide access to Heavy and Special Weapons, and also have access to Vox Casters. Unlike the current Veterans, however, they may not take the specialisations. th

It should be noted that ͞The Defenders of Vraks͟ army list was designed in 4 Edition, and as such has slightly out-dated rules, and practises, such as the wargear armoury, and as such, the Disciples of Xaphan champion has access to the armoury, where they are able to purchase standard equipment ʹ the rules of rd which can be found in Codex: Imperial Guard that was present at the time, itself written late in 3 Edition. In addition, it includes access to a couple more pieces of Chaos themed equipment ʹ the Chaos Banner, and Unholy Relic, both which have similar effects to their Imperial counterparts. In all instances, they have the Infiltrate Special Rule, but lose it should they take a Chimera as a transport. The ͞Servants of Slaughter͟ list shows them take a decrease in points cost, as the Champion costs nothing extra. One recurring theme is the availability of the Champion to be equipped with a Sniper Rifle. With the exception of ͞The Defenders of Vraks͟ (due to having access to the armoury), they are the only models in their respective lists which may take that as a weapon. There are no dedicated models for them as yet, but Forge World has produced a range of Renegade and cultist models/extra͛s which are useable in this manner.