Alternate Lore: Loyalist Konrad Curze - Entry 4 (The Anarchs)

“Our Father was a slave, first and always. He sought obedience and licked at the heels of a greedy master, he sought to bring fear to the galaxy but sought to justify his action. He chained our movements and put his foot on our throats. Never again. I will never serve the Carrion Emperor or be a servant to any being. I will never restraint my action or be forced to choose what I desire. I will not live a slave, I would rather die free knowing I controlled my fate.”

- Daemon Prince Nakrid Thole, the Faceless Prince and First of the Anarchs

The Anarchs are the sons of Curze that turned traitor during the Horus Heresy and in the 41st millennium, they are an ever present worry among the world of the Imperium.

The beginning of the Anarchs were much less a movement of opposition or a philosophy, it instead rose from a feeling deep within that was suppressed: Freedom. Freedom to choose one’s own actions, Freedom to commit whatever inclination drove them and Freedom to be rid of rules that got in their way.

Most Anarchs were among the children of Nostramo before the rule of the Dark King was cemented, scarred by the ruleless society that brought them up. As the corpse of Nostramo was pacified and the enforcement of the Judiciary became firm, these scars didn’t heal completely. The order enforced through fear didn’t remove the wondering of what was before, it only festered a new wound. This pain was most known to Nakrid Thole.

Born a dreg in the hive city of Nostramo Tertius, his life before selection into the Vlll Legion isn’t known. Some speculated that he ate upon the corpses of his parents as an initiation to join some petty hive gang, though eventually turned on them to join the Judiciary Enforcers. What is known is that after his genetic elevation into the Night Lords, he rose through the ranks until he became praetor. In each instance of his elevation to a new rank, his commander would end up dead and he managed to reign in the control of his fellow legionaries to some minor victory. Each time, the killings just plausible enough to explain away as caused by the enemy but still worrying enough to warrant investigation by higher officials. Ultimately, nothing could prove that he was guilty of any crime.

At command of his troops and out of earshot from other high ranking officers, Thole slowly dripped poisonous treason into their ears. Whispering that the Night Lords should not be a knife to be used by the Imperium by the ones wielding it. These words echoed out slowly across the legion, only being heard aloud when the Arch-Traitor Horus Lupercal made an appeal to his brother Konrad Curze. Offering a hand to his brother and stating that he would be freed from the shackles of the Emperor of Mankind The Night Haunter spoke with no emotion and stated clearly: ‘Corshia sey.’

When the Anarchs broke out into rebellious against their gene-father, half of the Legion scoured across the galaxy to set it alight and fall to the inclinations they were force to bury. Though they found liberation by the Warmaster, the Anarchs held no alliance and took no command from him. This was a factor that the Warmaster permitted begrudgingly but still guided them to areas most crucial to his plans, degrading loyalist forces and disrupting their supply lines. This freedom resulted in a miscalculation as when the call was called out to all traitorous forces to the Siege on Terra, only a fraction of Anarchs answered the call while the rest remained scattered to all corners of the galaxy.

There are no masters or commanders among Anarch forces, only groups sharing a specific goal. One takes the lead but if failure occurs or another member seeks a new course, another will take control. Among the Anarchs, shared interest and opportunity is the only thing that will direct a small squad.

To a similar end, the Anarchs serve only Chaos Undivided. It is rare to see any Anarch outright in the serve of one Chaos God as it binds them to only one path, forever force to walk by the side of one master and their will. Though even this isn’t true as the Anarchs tend to ignore the blessings and call of the Grandfather, seeing his acceptance of life and death as an unnecessary chain that contains their freedom.

In the 41st Millennium, the Anarchs are an unrelenting of disruption and upheaval. Whether aiding the Red Corsairs or enacting a plot schemed by the Alpha Legion, the Anarchs bring destruction in their wake. From singular cells to large war bands, the Imperium quakes at the thought of their arrival. Though as the Night Lords combat their traitorous brothers, whispers circulate among their ranks of their ranks and breeding dread. Tales of the Night Haunter prowling the depths of the Warp to enact long owed judgement, leaving only one message scrawled across their flayed flesh: ‘Corshia set.’