Vandis Rogue Trader Dynasty

Vandis History: In the early days of the Great Crusade Sir Ferdinand Vandis was one of the of the first Rogue Trader vessels to travel ahead of the main fleet to find valuables not just for his newly founded dynasty but for the Imperium as well. Many worlds were swept into Imperial compliance by the charisma of Ferdinand Vandis and his wife Eleana Vandis. On the Knight World of Huron IV the ruling nobles and rogue trader houses discussed merging their houses for a multitude of reasons. The marriage between Ferdinand’s eldest son Kellom to the only child of the Knight House, Lady Hishen Errium. Effectively the Rogue Trader house had Knights under their command, The father of House Errium ordered that Kellom refuse to inherit the Rogue Trader house upon the death of the family’s patriarch. This caused the first “Vandis Split” as the families call it, a Vandis Split is when a member of the Vandis house leaves his family and starts up another house. Their have been a great number of splits when one or two Vandis children being the usually member to depart from their family, with some becoming great families in the Astra Militarum or members of the Ecclesiarchy and at the same time some Splits have lead in mass death to the entire newfound Vandis houses leading to total annihilation. The reason why the splits became an important part of the Vandis Dynasty is because the Vandis house almost became extinct when the Dynasty fought a particularly brutal engagement with the xenos race known as the Q’uaroa, the dynasty fought alongside The Lunar Wolves legion. The engagement killed all of Ferdinand’s brothers and sisters and his wife Eleana, this forced Ferdinand’s hand in accepting the. In the current year of the Imperium the Vandis Dynasty is surviving by a thread, their world of Volantis was invaded by an Iron Warriors warband and much of the Vandis Dynasty died defending their worlds, the only known surviving member is Heltr “Kholt” Vandis who was order to retreat by his father Havik Vandis while him and Heltr’s siblings all agreeing to cover his retreat. Volantis was then enslaved by the Iron Warriors turning the cities into vast factories to make weapons for the legion, forcibly sending tithes to Mendregard. The young Heltr young and alone lost his trade routes to rivals, his family to fall back to, he lost everything. The only thing he could do to stay afloat was to sell his families relics to keep him from being killed in the harsh galaxy. The amount of relics he has is barely even a echo of his once glorious relics and honorifics. Dynasty Crest: The Vandis crest is that of a Sword in the middle with a Standing Stag on the left side and a Lion on the right side. The colors is a diagonal cut from corner to corner with top right a powerful red and the bottom left being of snow with. Vandis Culture: In Vandis culture all member believe in naming their weapons less they bring swathes of misfortune if they don’t. A few generations after the Vandis Dynasty left terra the family made the world of Volantis and its moon of Sathuris their home and much of the Dynasty has taken much of their belief and culture from Volantis and Sathuris, such as someone having two names, a name for family members which is kept a closely guarded secret and an outside name which is used for everyone outside family. An example of a family name is Heltr’s family name of Kholt. Another belief is to reforged weapons when they have been damaged or broken in battle to make them stronger than before. In order to avoid family infighting the first rogue trader of Ferdinand and the patriarch of the the Knight House Errium devised the Vandis Split. The Volantian culture puts a strong emphasis on family bonds and this has become a main segment in the Vandis Dynasty. The world has a tradition where you tame a hound or crow as a pet, to the Vandis Dynasty each member must tame both a hound and a crow, Currently Heltr’s hound is called Krenna and his crow is called Spectre who are both located on the Vault of Lumina.

Notable Vandis Splits: In the Current Millenium the Vandis Dynasty haven’t contacted their branch families for some time. - Vandis/Errium: Sir Kellom Vandis married into the Errium Knight House with the Knight houses only child Lady Hishen Errium. - Vandis/ Nojelm: The eldest Vandis daughter Slyvaa married to Imperial General Khorrial Croz Nojelm. -Vandis/ Phalden: Eldest son Draaken married the youngest daughter Alastri of the flamboyant governor family on Draiestra -Vandis/ Thorne: Vandis daughter Phallia married into another Rogue Trader dynasty -Vandis/Gerothion : Vandis son Dagorn married princess Satha Gerothion of the world of Harjorn and Satha Vorothion becoming the house on the newly colonised world of Oran -Vandis/ Harrion: -Vandis/ Aemorre:

Dynasty Fleet: -Vault of Lumina (active): The last surviving vessel belonging to the Vandis Dynasty, This vessel was made in the 37th Millennium, the interior of the vessel is remade from the ruins on the capital City of Luminis on Sathuris after the Orkz invaded the world. For 900 years the vessel was docked on the space station orbiting the star in the Volantis system. The vessel was gifted to Heltr Vandis during the the celebration ceremony for passing his rights of manhood by his father Havik Vandis. - The Void Wind (missing): The first vessel that belonged to Vandis Dynasty. This vessel was made in the early days of the Great Crusade and fought alongside space marine legions. The mighty vessel was said to be lost in the Warp or trapped in a Space Hulk. -Banshee’s Song (missing): This vessel belonged to Heltr’s mother Haleyla “Sandra” Vandis, Haleyla followed her son Heltr in his retreat when the battle was lost with Havik Vandis ordering his wife and unborn child to make an emergency Warp Jump. When Heltr arrived at the rendezvous point he waited for untold months for the rest of his family which never arrived. -Charun’s Veil (destroyed): Captained by Astra Militarum General Xarem “Mervorl” Vandis cousin to Heltr “Kholt” Vandis manned the defenses of the Palace of Crows the home of the Vandis Rogue Trader Dynasty on Volantis during the Defense of Volantis along will five regiments of Volantian Guard. Leaving his vessel Charun’s Veil in command of his second in command Frelao Chek. -Lance of Thorns (destroyed): This vessel was lost during the Defense of Volantis, the vessel was commanded by one of Heltr’s brothers, it was said that this vessel was the first to fall during the battle. - The Iron Fang (destroyed): Havik “Vhaln” Vandis captained this mighty vessel for hundred and fifety years, this ship was passed down generations at a time. During the Defense of Volantis the vessel was boarded, it was said that the captain killed two Iron Warriors before dying to one. -The Ralciena (missing): Captained by Korphus “Rhalixis” Vandis brother of Heltr “Kholt” Vandis, the vessel was said to be lost in the Ghoul Stars -Spear of Light (destroyed): The Spear of Light was commanded by Setali “Jhenn” Vandis the youngest daughter of the Vandis Dynasty, it is said that she was the last ship that fell in void warfare against the Iron Warriors during the Defence of Volantis -Ghost (Stolen): This vessel was Stolen by the Nerrick Rogue Trader Dynasty after a bloody battle between the Vandis Dynasty and the Nerrick Dynasty. Notable current Vandis members: -Heltr “Kholt” Vandis: The last known surviving member of the Vandis Dynasty -Havik “Vhorm” Vandis: Father of Heltr Vandis, commanded the defense of Volantis against the Iron Warriors fleet. -Korphus “Rhalixis” Vandis: The eldest son of Havik “Vhorm” It is said that Korphus disappeared mysteriously while exploring the Ghoul Stars. -Setali “Jhenn” Vandis: The youngest daughter of the Vandis Dynasty, Heltr states that Setali loved her family as much as she was stubborn. During the defence of Volantis Setali was the last vessel to fall during the battle as she gave as much time as she could to let her brother escape from the system. -Sir Ferdinand Vandis: The first member of the Vandis Rogue Trader Dynasty. -Eleana Vandis: Wife of Sir Ferdinand, Eleana was a former pirate queen of the Falchar Belt who respected Ferdinand as a warrior and leader and so joined her pirate fleet with his rogue trader fleet. -Xarem “Mervorl” Vandis: cousin to Heltr “Kholt” Vandis manned the defenses of the Palace of Crows the home of the Vandis Rogue Trader Dynasty on Volantis during the Defense of Volantis along will five regiments of Volantian Guard.

Vandis Relics: Much of the relics belonging to the Vandis family were lost or destroyed from chaos forces during the Defence of Volantis, with some relics having the unfortunate event of being given to favored slaves of the Iron Warriors. Even after the battle Heltr had to sell much of his family relics to keep his house afloat and avoid extinction.

-Throne of the Ancestor: This throne was sat upon by Sir Ferdinand Vandis while he command his house. The throne is said to be made out melted metal and bones of Vandis enemies be it human or xeno. This throne is currently on the bridge of the vessel “Vault of Lumina”. -Statue of the Pirate Queen: This statue is made depicting Heltr’s ancestor of Eleana Vandis in her pirate garb, her body having angelic wings. The statue is made from marble and is currently in the storage hold in the “Vault of Lumina” - Wail of Crows: This transport is mainly used to transport people in hostile environment. - The Defiance: This weapon is an ancient plasma pistol belonging to a slain member of the Nerrick Dynasty after a Vandis member dueled a Nerrick member to the death and this plasma pistol was taken as a trophy. -Queen of Storms: This is the personal shuttle of Heltr Vandis. -Vandis Coin: Heltr “Kholt” Vandis has with him a coin that was used exclusively within his family, these coins are mainly used as charms or tokens within the family with the coins being blessed by the favored priest of the Vandis Household. Rivals: -Nerrick Rogue Trader Dynasty: the origin of the rivalry between the two houses has been forgotten by time but the hatred has keep a steady pace. The current ruler of the house is the a crazed man Gregan Nerrick known as “Patchwork” by members of the Vandis house. The reason he was given this nickname was because Gregan is made out of the parts of various people with very noticeable surgery stitches on almost every part of his body with other people’s body parts and skin. While much of the house are the opposite of Gregan in terms of sanity they really can’t do anything against their leader much to their dismay, rumours circulate that the Dynasty is currently engaging in a small and quiet civil war. The flagship of the Nerrick House is called the “Ashen Fury”. -Kabal of the Venomed Soul: During the Harrion Crusade Heltr Vandis was in the middle of a meeting with various other important figures to discuss the crusade including Captain Lordan Jhaak of the Mutilators Chapter. While much of the imperial forces were assaulting the Harrion Sector the Kabal of the Venomed Soul assaulted the space station and soon breached the station, much of the battle Heltr refuses to speak about but Heltr, Jhaak and all other Imperials of the station and then later on the nearby planet were enslaved by the Drukhari. During their enslavement Jhaak and Heltr formed a friendship as they were placed in the fighting pits. For an untold time the two fought alongside one another and soon caused an uprising within the slaves with unknown swathes of orks, xenos, and heretics. By unknown means Jhaak and Heltr reached a shuttled and managed to reach back to the Crusade force. Secret Locations: -Stronghold of Ashuran: Should the world of Volantis fall the Vandis family made a fortress palace as a backup. This stronghold is a closely guarded secret amongst members of the Vandis family. Even when the Vandis Dynasty was reduced to just Heltr he has yet to visit the Ashuran Palace. The palace is located on the Dead World of Ashuran with the only structure being the Ashuran Palace placed on top of a vast ravine. The palace has said to ransacked for valuables. -The Beast World of Feythorix: The world of Feythorix is considered a feudal world to the outside Imperium but to those who venture on the planet will quickly realize that the world’s population is almost all beastmen. It is said that their golden god allowed their kind to flourish on this world and a few others for their loyalties to the Imperium. While there are a few categorized as Beast Worlds they still exist. The high lords stamp the continued existence of these Beast Worlds every thousand years. The Vandis Dynasty fought for the world against a greenskins and so the local beastman population became in debt to the Dynasty, this gave Dynasty a large amount of Beast warriors for their retinues and mercenary armies. Few have knowledge about Beast Worlds and so few every land on one,on Feythorix when a vessel arrives in orbit much of the population thinks it is a Vandis owned vessel or how they call them “Divine Emissaries of the Golden God” and vast celebrations and feasts soon happen. -The Dead Shipyards of the Kheldonis System: This system was lost and forgotten by the Imperium, it was only found by accident when an ancestor of the Vandis Dynasty. The system is home to thousands of if not more starships Imperial or otherwise with a large star-port in orbit around a dead world called by the Dynasty as the “The Planet of Whispering Dead”, the Vandis Dynasty is very frightened of this world after a catastrophic of one of the cities caused this planet to be barred from any trips to the surface. The Dynasty has used this system as a way to scavenge for anything of use for three thousand years. The Vandis Dynasty managed to rediscover a bolter pattern and sell it to the Mechanicus, a trade that was very profitable, the pattern itself is still used by members of the Adeptus Sororitas in the current year. While Keltr was not old enough to know of the System’s location it is said that his vessel holds clues to the true whereabouts.