Knights-Errant

The Knights-Errant were a mysterious body of Space Marine warriors that was formed at the express order of Malcador the Sigillite, the acting Regent of Terra, following the betrayal at the Breaking of Keld'abe during the opening days of the Five Ruins in the early years of the 31st Millennium.

These agents of the Sigillite were made up of an ever-expanding band of elite Astartes drawn from almost all of the Space Marine Legions, Loyalist and Traitor alike, each and every one an exemplar of the Emperor's vision for the champions of Humanity.

They were the pinnacle of the "Chosen of Malcador," a secret army sent to the far reaches of the Imperium of Man to prosecute the Sigillite's "Silent War" and other missions the Sigillite determined vital to Imperial victory over the Separatists and Traitors.

The Knights-Errant were entirely dedicated to Malcador's cause, which transcended even the immediate strategic concerns of the Five Ruins, and proved vital to all that would come during the subsequent Age of the Imperium.

History
In the solar decades that had passed since the culmination of the Five Ruins, tacticae savants had identified a broad spectrum of categories into which many irregular forces of those conflicts could be placed.

At one end of this spectrum was to be found the body of warriors known as the "Knights-Errant." Imperial scholars know all but nothing of this mysterious group, other than it was formed at the express order of Malcador the Sigillite.

The so-called "Chosen of Malcador" included many individuals from a wide range of backgrounds, but his Knights-Errant were all Space Marines, and many of these were the scions of the Traitor and Separatist primarchs who had refused to follow their gene-fathers into treachery and chose instead to renounce their Legion and serve the Imperium directly at its highest level. All cast off their original Space Marine Legion heraldry and wore in its stead the gunmetal grey of bare ceramite and the Sigillite's own icon as their badge.

Little is now known of the highly secret missions the Knights-Errant undertook at the behest of the Regent of Terra throughout the Ruins, for many accounts have been deliberately suppressed, events went unrecorded at the time or reports were simply lost in the conflagration that descended upon Terra at the culmination of the Fourth Ruin.

Certainly, the Knights-Errant fought alone or in small groups against key foes identified by the Sigillite and in some cases aligned their interests with those of other Legion forces, serving side by side with conventional Legiones Astartes units when deemed necessary.

Known Members

 * Tobiah Stolar - former Equerry of the Black Stars.
 * Fredegar - former Tacital Support Marine of the Red Eyes 1st Chapter.
 * Jani Ojala - former Librarian of the Sky Reavers 13th Wing.

Knights-Errant Colours
Having foresworn their oaths to their Space Marine Legions of origin, the Knights-Errant wore artificer-wrought battle plate scoured to unpainted ceramite gunmetal grey. They bore no sigil other than that of Malcador.

Despite renouncing their former ties, many Knights-Errant retained some token of their former identity, varying from a simple keepsake of a battle of old to a favoured weapon too potent to set aside.

They also received access to whatever other master-crafted weapons and wargear they required to prosecute the Sigillite's far-reaching Silent War.

Knights-Errant Iconography
Members of the Knights-Errant were marked with the personal sigil of Malcador the Sigillite -- a stylised letter "I" with three horizontal lines through its centre.

This icon would later become infamous across the galaxy after the Five Ruins as the Inquisitorial Seal of the Inquisition. [[Category:K]]