Ashur of Banipal
| Ashur of Banipal | |
|---|---|
| |
| Title/Honours |
The Megatherion, The Lord of Bronze and Bone, The Behemoth, The Planeswalker |
| Discovered (world) |
Babylon V |
| Discovered (period) |
846.M30 |
| Legion | |
| Great Crusade Command |
Primarch, 37th Expeditionary fleet |
| Heraldry/Sigil |
|
| Unique Weapon |
The Spiked Maul, powerfists "Thunderclap" and "Sky Shatter" |
| Distinguishing Traits |
Diplomat, Empath, Close Combat Brawler |
| Flaws |
Weak-willed, appeasing, |
| Brotherwar role |
Traitor (Undivided) |
| Fate |
Becomes a Daemonprimarch |
This page is part of the Warmasters Triumvirate, a fan re-working of the Warhammer 40,000 Universe. See the Warmasters Triumvirate page for more information on the Alternate Universe.
Ashur of Banipal is the 10th found Primarch, and genesire of the Loxodontii. A gentle soul and an earthy personality, he loved the common people and tried to keep close familial ties with his primarch brothers, however his attempts were not reciprocated by all of them and in fact viewed as a weakness of his character. In fact his leniency and wish to please would eventually lead to a grave betrayal in his legion and the corruption of several other Space Marine legions. Having grown up among the nomad tribes of his homeworld Babylon V, he became accustomed to working with vehicles and quick raids, which he would later adapt into his legion's core stratagem in order to force their enemies to surrender. If he could not avoid joining combat himself, Ashur would either bring his trusted spiked maul or equip his two thunderfists and swat enemies away with his fierce power. He was prone to a reckless rage that he himself often regretted in the aftermath, which is why he preferred diplomacy and directing his troops' movements.
History
Primarch Origin
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As time passed did once again the envy and jealousy of man rise and endanger Ashur’s peace. Rival tribes had identified Ashur and quickly reported to the great city of Banipal, whose merchant lords and priests had feverishly scoured the land for their prized slave. Troops were sent, and once again did they assault Ashur’s caravan in the cover of the night. But this time, they didn’t have a ceremony to make their prey drunk and uncaring.
Just as they fired their first shots, so were grenades lobbed into their midst and the roaring of engines tore through the night. The caravan’s trailers had been modified into battle wagons, their crude turrets allowing their operators to keep their attackers pinned in place while bikeriders flanked them and pummelled them with explosives. After the first assault, a tremor shook the earth, and from behind the cover of their trailers came forth Ashur clad in plates of scrap metal, wielding a giant spiked maul, the elephant’s skull on his shoulder gleaming in the muzzle flash of blazing guns, his eyes aflame with terrible anger and his throat bellowing a deafening war cry. In his wake followed his tribesmen equipped with long knives and pistols, and like a pack of starved hyenas fell the mob over the stunned and disoriented enemies. The battle did not last long, and the troops from Banipal routed in chaos, chased by the screams of their dying and the victorious howling of Ashur’s new tribe.
The primarch himself was lost again to a bloodthirsty stupor, but not numbed by it. He was invigorated, empowered, and although he still mourned the loss of life from both friend and foe, the experience of combat felt so natural. He realised, in a way, that it was no different from hunting wild game or butchering a camel for food. Just as food came to his mind, he realised a smacking sound around him, and as he turned to face the noise he realised his tribesmen were gorging themselves on their fallen enemies. Disgusted by this gruelling display he shouted and ordered them to stop, that he forbade them their practice. Confused they stared at him, slowly backing off from their meal, but nonetheless eyeing their most cherished clan members with suspicion. Ashur could see in their hazy gazes that they wanted to challenge him, but their tribal bonds and better judgement stayed their hands.
He ordered them all to clean themselves and go to bed, while he retreated into the night. Sleep did not come easy, as the rest of his tribe didn’t follow his orders to a T, instead sneaking out to strip the dead off their flesh and belongings. Ashur knew he had to stop them, but he did not want to lose another family, so he let them have their way. Just this one time, he swore. His leniency that night would spark just another of many insurrections to his authority.
Many battles would be fought over the following weeks, until the primarch could no longer pretend that he could return to his peaceful life. If he was to live life free and safe, he would have to cull the threat. Over the course of a month, he united almost all neighbouring nomad tribes through diplomacy, bargaining and, if inevitable, violence. His knowledge of technology allowed him to craft machines and weaponry that rivalled the quality of their enemies. The following months were spent campaigning, conquering major routes and bringing more tribes into the fold, until Ashur was certain he would be able to take the ones responsible for hounding him so: The merchant lords and priests of the great city of Banipal.
The attack began slowly. First, supplies were cut off. “Raids”, it was called, “Highwaymen” stealing their goods. The upper echelon of Banipal sent their troops to investigate and punish the culprits, but none ever returned. The signs were crystal clear in hindsight, but the elites of the great city had become complacent in their luxury, not expecting that they could ever come under a direct attack from the rural populace outside their walls. To them, the events were too disconnected, too random. It wasn’t until the great city of Banipal was surrounded with camps, barricades and siege cannons that they realised that they were trapped – And that they could never hold an attack.
While the lords and priests had indulged in their luxuries and pomp did Ashur’s spies infiltrate the city and recruited the slaves for their cause, leaving crucial defense mechanisms unmanned and damaged. The great city of Banipal was taken in one fell swoop, and as Ashur’s army stood at the palace gates did the lords and ladies come forth to surrender and beg for mercy. Some were pardoned, others were hung from the city gates, and some banished to the arid wilderness where they would fend for their lives in penance.
Ashur, despite wanting to return to the plains himself, was convinced by his closest friends to don the mantle of king, thus becoming Ashur of Banipal, the lord of Bronze and Bone. It was here that he truly realised potential, improving supply lines between cities, fortifying trade caravans and returning the great cities to a glory of time immemorial as he and his most gifted machinists and engineers repaired the archeotech installations. Although many still envied him, hated him, the majority of Babylon V loved him. Ashur himself remained humble and often ventured into the wild at his leisure, visiting the nomad tribes and trading caravans. Yet his duties only increased, allowing him less and less time in the wild and chaining him more and more to the royal palace, where he was surrounded with luxury, pomp and overindulgent wealth. While his rule brought the planet to a new glory, his good nature was exploited by remaining nobles and figures of authority, and although everything was still going strong, more and more influence was wrestled from the primarch under the guise of delegation.
==Life is a lie equal to the crusades
Brotherwar
As he assembled his forces in orbit over Babylon V and was about to execute his chapter commanders, all but two of them ordered their forces to open fire and take their primarch hostage. While they initially planned to kill him, they couldn't, and Ashur was instead collared again by an archeotech collar that made his mind docile and submissive. In the wake of this betrayal, Ashur was held in the cargo hold of the Anu, his own flagship, strapped to a gruesome machine and doused day and night in the blood of butchered serfs as a ritual was acted out on him. At the height of his legions frenzied infighting and the arrival of a punitive fleet to destroy the Loxodontii and free Ashur, the ritual reached its conclusion, fusing his flesh and the machine into one monstrous body and elevating him to Daemonhood. As the legion fractured and the warbands escaped into different directions, Ashur himself would be held in a state of restless sleep aboard the Anu until he would be visited by Lambach Kropor, who returned a portion of Ashur's own mind and restored his vitality through warpsorcery. Ashur, in turn, would then be swayed by Lambach to join the efforts of Marduk Engur to attack Terra and kill the Emperor, as Ashur now believed Lambach had been visited and blessed by the Babylonian gods.
Ashur and the Loxodontii played a role in breaching the outermost defenses of the Imperial Palace, but not before murdering, butchering and devouring the civilian population. Je'She faced the Daemonprimarch and the Loxodontii with his own Sentinels. Once the Chaos Traitors had been defeated, Ashur would be banished to the Warp, forever roaming the chaotic Otherworld in search for prey.
Fate & Legacy
Ashur of Banipal roams the Warp and is summonned by his legionnaires as a mighty beast of war to crush and devour their enemies. His mind fluctuates between catatony, a beastial sentience and a lucid awareness alike his former, human form.
Rules
N/A