999.M41
The Reach
Inside the Fortress-Monastery of the Void Stalkers
Sometimes I wonder what the ancestors of my geneseed thought of the Reach when they first came upon it. I have no doubt that all they found was a solar system of feral worlds inhabited by men and women who had long forgotten the history of their species and its many accomplishments. There is almost nothing here in this far-flung corner of the galaxy -- so far from the light of Terra, in fact, that one stares merely into the void when turning one's back to humanity's home. This is where the stars end. And yet... something must have made them stay and watch over the people of these worlds. I am grateful that they did. The early Void Stalkers, whoever they were, lifted us up from total oblivion and kept my people safe from the various threats that prowl at the galaxy's edge. Every day, even now that I am Chapter Master, I am grateful that I was taken from the harsh, barren surface of Harkonnen and recruited to become an Astartes. Over the centuries, the responsibility of keeping this isolated realm safe has fallen to me. It is I who recruits and I who protects.
Of course, we cannot forget the Order of the Black Sun, newcomers though they are. Where we have always given purpose and power to the men of the Reach, so do they now to its women. I cannot say I fully believe their idealistic views on the Emperor and his Imperium, but they keep the faith alive and they fight hard. There are much worse things to be than a fanatic zealot whose heart is in the right place.
Either way, I digress. All of what we have built and safeguarded here for... well, only the Emperor knows for how long, is now under the most severe kind of threat. I have heard of these creatures. Fragments and snippets from the stories of Rogue Traders and the ever-infrequent Administratum inspections. I suspect we will not be able to count on the Imperium's help, if we can even call for it. My astropaths have told me there is some kind of shadow in the warp. That tells me all I need to know.
The Great Devourer is coming. If the Emperor doesn't protect, we shall have to do it ourselves.
- Chapter Master Nykerios
The Reach
Inside the Fortress-Monastery of the Void Stalkers
Sometimes I wonder what the ancestors of my geneseed thought of the Reach when they first came upon it. I have no doubt that all they found was a solar system of feral worlds inhabited by men and women who had long forgotten the history of their species and its many accomplishments. There is almost nothing here in this far-flung corner of the galaxy -- so far from the light of Terra, in fact, that one stares merely into the void when turning one's back to humanity's home. This is where the stars end. And yet... something must have made them stay and watch over the people of these worlds. I am grateful that they did. The early Void Stalkers, whoever they were, lifted us up from total oblivion and kept my people safe from the various threats that prowl at the galaxy's edge. Every day, even now that I am Chapter Master, I am grateful that I was taken from the harsh, barren surface of Harkonnen and recruited to become an Astartes. Over the centuries, the responsibility of keeping this isolated realm safe has fallen to me. It is I who recruits and I who protects.
Of course, we cannot forget the Order of the Black Sun, newcomers though they are. Where we have always given purpose and power to the men of the Reach, so do they now to its women. I cannot say I fully believe their idealistic views on the Emperor and his Imperium, but they keep the faith alive and they fight hard. There are much worse things to be than a fanatic zealot whose heart is in the right place.
Either way, I digress. All of what we have built and safeguarded here for... well, only the Emperor knows for how long, is now under the most severe kind of threat. I have heard of these creatures. Fragments and snippets from the stories of Rogue Traders and the ever-infrequent Administratum inspections. I suspect we will not be able to count on the Imperium's help, if we can even call for it. My astropaths have told me there is some kind of shadow in the warp. That tells me all I need to know.
The Great Devourer is coming. If the Emperor doesn't protect, we shall have to do it ourselves.
- Chapter Master Nykerios
If you made it this far, thank you for reading and welcome to the Long Night. This is an idea that came to me earlier today and instead of agonizing over its details for hours upon hours I decided to simply throw it out here and see what sticks. As the title and the little flavor text imply, this is a Warhammer 40,000 roleplay. Set in the current timeline of the Imperium, the story focuses on two chapters of the Sisters of Battle and the Space Marines, respectively, who watch over an extremely isolated solar system known as the Reach at the edge of the galaxy and the Imperium. Their vigilant watch threatens to come at an end, however, as the Tyranid Hive Fleet Cerberus approaches from the intergalactic void. Players can choose to create and play a character from either organization.
The Order of the Black Sun is a highly devout lesser order militant of the Adepta Sororitas that has come to the Reach sometime within the last few centuries. They are on a mission to return the faith of the Imperial Cult to this heathen edge of the galaxy. The early history of the order has been lost since their migration, but their piety and reverence for the Emperor as savior of all mankind haven't changed in the slightest. The Sisters of the Black Sun are unshakable in their faith and devoted to the protection of the people of the Reach, also from outside threats but mostly against heresy from within. All of the order's Sisters are, obviously, women.
Their counterparts are the Void Stalkers, Space Marines of the Adeptus Astartes who have been based in the Reach for millennia. Their long isolation, self-sufficiency and independence from the Imperium have slowly turned them into borderline renegades who worship the Emperor in only the most abstract of ways. The main reason the Void Stalkers have escaped being branded Exocommunicate Traitoris is, quite frankly, the enormous distance of the Reach from any other hub of Imperial civilization -- their fall from faith has gone unnoticed. They fully believe in defending the Reach and its people, something they consider a sacred task, but care little for the rest of the galaxy. The Order of the Black Sun tries to restore the Imperial belief back to the Void Stalkers, with mixed succes.
Now, the Reach will soon be under siege from the Tyranids. It is a hopeless fight and much of this roleplay will revolve around a desperate struggle for survival against the horrors of the Great Devourer. Within this context, the main theme I want to explore is what happens when fanatics and apostates are forced into the most horrific of scenarios together. I will need people to play Sisters of Battle and I will need people to play Space Marines. In fact, I'll most likely have specific roles I need to fill (like Chaplain, Apothecary and Celestian), but I'll go into more detail in the OOC... should I gather enough interest.
So, who's in?
