Slaughter on Scinota

The Slaughter on Scinota is an event that saw the Wardens Vigil Chapter's destruction at the hands of the three Khornate warbands; the Malignant Spirits, the Trial and the Horrors and Haunted. It also saw the end of hostilities between the Spirits and the Trial as the slaughter of the loyalist Chapter proved the Spirits worthy enough to continue fighting for Khorne.

Background
The Wardens had outlived their time. Wandering the galaxy for purpose after their only pastime was obliterated by the Despoiler, they had achieved little to regain their former glory. Kren attempted the Rubicon, and even though he came out alive, there was little to celebrate. Braeokais, the former Captain of the 1st Company, had been slain during the Second Siege of Khraken. Replaced by the inexperienced Primaris Captain Craegreht, the millennium would begin on a bitter note, possibly followed by even darker times for the Wardens. However, they believed they would prevail, as the Emperor has prevailed. This would not be so.

Trial of the Spirits
When their fortress was destroyed, the Malignant Spirits traversed the warp in search for a new world to claim. However, their weakness in allowing their world's destruction unknowingly placed judgement on them. Thus it is of no surprise the Spirits' fleet came across the Harbinger of Wrath, the infamous Space Hulk that carried the dreaded Trial, silent warriors who slaughtered the weaklings that failed the powers of Chaos. Despite this the Spirits boarded anyway, and awoke the dormant warband from their slumber. Blood was shed and a heavy toll was taken but the Spirits were able to escape from the Harbinger of Wrath and flee. However, the Trial do not allow their prey to escape and began a pursuit that wrought carnage over dozens of worlds as the the two Khornate forces clashed.

Old Foes Make War
When the Wardens' received the news of Khraken’s destruction at the hands of the Spirits themselves, along with their significant weakening and their newfound prey-predator relationship with the Trial, there was no rejoice. The Wardens only continued to wander and wait until an opportunity for their redemption would present itself. The opportunity came to them, in the form of the fleeing Malignant Spirits. They appeared near the Wardens’ fleet in incredible size, their warband at numbers unheard of even at their strongest era, even as they suffered heavy casualties from the constant attacks from the Trial.

Engaging in battle almost immediately, the Wardens were caught off-guard but recovered quickly, intent on prevailing. The battle raged on with increasingly defensive tactics being used by the Wardens and increasingly offensive tactics being used by the Spirits though the loyalists were clearly gaining the upper hand. As victory appeared to be within the Wardens' reach, the Horrors and Haunted warband suddenly appeared from the warp. Claiming to have been guided by the Warp’s whispers, their lord Myengehr Hyril contacted Illiath, lord of the Spirits, and proposed a partnership between the ‘true sons of the blind gatekeepers’ as he worded it. They attacked the Wardens with more ferocious strikes, beating them down until they had to retreat to the planet beneath them, a world named Scinota. In the ruins of that world, the Wardens dug in and prepared for the charge of two warbands. But then a third came.

The Trial
As the Spirits and Haunted advanced, the Trial finally caught up with the Malignant Spirits and found them fighting the Wardens. Though they made to engage the Spirits, the Slayer, lord of the Trial, was stopped by his master, the Wrathful Quiet, and told to allow the Spirits to fight. With a raise of his hand, the Slayer stayed his warrior's blades and allowed the Malignant Spirits a chance to prove themselves. With his finest cadre of warriors, the Slayer made planetfall and observed their former prey. He watched for 8 minutes and 8 seconds before the Wrathful Quiet spoke to him again, the fury and might of their former prey was not found wanting, the Malignant Spirits were still worthy of Khorne's Blessing. With that the Trial charged into battle. But not against the Malignant Spirits, but against the Wardens. With their might added to that of the Spirits and the Haunted, the Wardens met their doom.

Skulls for the Skull Throne
Landing on the ground, the Spirits charged through a snow-covered mountain tearing apart any lines of defense the Wardens had hastily erected, many of which were unfinished and thus easily overrun. The Spirits then encircled the Wardens’ main base, performing rituals in the name of Khorne. The Horrors and Haunted joined them for this final strike on their parent-Chapter, rabidly charging into the loyalist's lines. Then the silent warriors of the Trial came, wanting to share this monumental kill between the three of them. Illiath was pleased with himself, picking up his axe and pointing towards the base with a mighty war cry. As one, the Spirits, Trial, and Haunted charged forward, Illiath at the front with the Slayer and Lord Myengehr at his side. Against the might of three warbands, the Wardens’ marines were torn to shreds, silently slaughtered by the Trial, ripped apart by the mouths of the Haunted, and decapitated by the Spirits. Illiath ran to Illeus Kren, his former Chapter Master, and fought a bloody, vengeful duel, while Skullbringer tore anyone who dared attempt to interfere apart.

Kalbodok and Abhaos soon leapt into the battle, Kalbodok’s incessant whining mixing well with Craegreht’s naivety and Abhaos finally finding an opponent who was worthy of Braeokais’ legacy in Revenus Adriel. Despite the loyalists doing everything they could and ending many mighty champions of the Warbands, it all came for nothing when the Slayer pointed to a warrior of his own cadre and named him a worthy vessel. 8 seconds later, the vessel exploded in a fountain of gore and gave form to the Wrathful Quiet, the Trial's patron Bloodthirster, who roared in silence and began its rampage.

Warriors Ascendant
Ultimately, Craegreht lay slain and Revenus was gone. Illeus Kren was the only member of the Wardens Vigil left standing but not for long. A Chapter who proved themselves worthy in the eyes of the God-Emperor would not be remembered. Their name would only fall under the many that have become extinct, and the many that suffered at the hands of the Malignant Spirits, the Trial and the Horrors and Haunted. With the battle finished, the lords of the three warbands signed a pact in blood, forming an alliance between the three of them. They would fight alongside each other for many millennia to come. Now, however, the Trial would begin yet another hunt, the Horrors and Haunted returned to their depraved yet Khornate acts, and the Malignant Spirits, free from their past, free from their present, and freed for their future, were ready to bathe the galaxy in blood and flames for eternity.

Even so, despite the alliance, all three Warbands kept an eye on their backs. Alliances between Chaos warbands rarely last, especially ones between Khornate warriors. The Malignant Spirits might be overtaken by their bloodthirst and lash out at their allies, the Horrors and Haunted might hunger for more flesh and the Trial might just find a weakness in either of their allies and be set upon them once more. Should such a day come, the blood spilled could drown an entire world...

Malignant Spirits

 * Lord Illiath
 * 1,800 Heretic Astartes

The Trial

 * The Slayer
 * The Wrathful Quiet
 * Estimated over 1,000 Khorne Berserkers

The Horrors and Haunted

 * Lord Myengehr Hyril
 * Unknown number of forces

Wardens Vigil

 * Chapter Master Illeus Kren
 * Entire Chapter