[Being a study of the horrendous war between the Old Ones and the Necrontyr]
THE TALISMEN OF VAUL
In the Old War, the now millennia-long battle between the Old Ones, or Slann,
and the Necrontyr, many terrible weapons have been created and unleashed.
Some of the most powerful weapons created in the first stages of the Old War,
sixty millennia ago, were the Talismen of Vaul. They were large star fortresses
that could move through the warp. Each starfort was armed with eight warp
cannons, weapons that could cut through the Warp and tear a ship apart by
ripping the reality around it into shreds.
Each starfort was many kilometers long and many more kilometers wide. They
resembled two large black pyramids placed base to base, pulsing with great
energy, with four long corridors of weapons reaching out to the sides. At the
end of each of these four corridors lies the focal crystals for the warp
cannons.
When these starforts were first created by the Elder, they were named the Talismen
of Vaul, named after the Elder smithy god. They would sail between the stars,
destroying ship after ship of the Necrontyr. Six great starforts sailed
alongside the many fleets of the Elder and Slann. When a powerful threat was
faced, multiple starforts would come together to add their power to each other
and destroy the threat. Two Talismen of Vaul could destroy a planet; three a
star. When all six of the Talismen of Vaul were brought together, their power
was such that they could severely weaken any of the C'tan gods, bringing them to
the brink of destruction.
When the Necrontyr went into stasis in their pyramids, and the Slann retreated
to the Northern Galactic Pole, the Elder inherited the galaxy. Over time they
took control of every star, save those inhabited by the then-benevolent Krork.
But with their greatness eventually came a terrible price. The Elder's pride
became their downfall, and with the birth of Slaanesh the Elder civilization was
almost completely destroyed. The Talismen of Vaul, in the galactic west, were
forgotten.
Black Crusade
Though the Elder, now the Eldar, had forgotten where the Talismen of Vaul where
and what they had been, the Necrontyr did not. When they awoke, they immediately
began to search for the Talismen of Vaul. They were quickly found and brought
under the command of Adeptus Mechanicus forces that were not under the command
of the Necrontyr.
Sensing no way to destroy them as events had taken place to date, the Necrontyr
saw another path. The Chaos Warmaster Abaddon was brash and wanted to take
revenge on the Imperium. He would surely seek such powerful weapons to be his
own. But to have them, he had to control them. If he could be led to the
artifacts, which had been triggered to vanish should a Necrontyr near them, he
could gain the control of the six Talismen of Vaul. With such a powerful foe
controlling the Talismen, the Eldar would surely try to liberate them, or the
Necrontyr could even possibly find a way to take control of them.
Plans were set into motion for Abaddon to find the Eye of Night and the Hand of
Darkness, and launch another of his infamous Black Crusades. Surely enough, this
brought his actions under the eye of the Eldar, who moved to retake the Talismen
of Vaul. After a few years of mayhem in what was known as the Gothic War, the
Eldar created a new device to control the Talismen of Vaul and activated their
self destruct systems.
The Necrontyr were pleased to witness the deaths of four of the Talismen of
Vaul, having close views of their doom by posing as TechPriests. But Abaddon had
escaped with two of the Talismen of Vaul, and the Necrontyr could not penetrate
the shadowy realms known as the Eye of Terror, for fear of the Enslavers.
Assurances were needed of the deaths of all six Talismen of Vaul, however.
To assure themselves, the Necrontyr put into motion another plot. Abaddon would
need to be drawn into the Imperium for another Black Crusade. But he needed a
juicy target for this to occur. To that end, the Necrontyr infiltrators within
the Imperium had elements of the Imperial military moved away from the Cadian
Gate, leaving it vulnerable to a concentrated attack from Chaos. Now the
Necrontyr sit in anticipation, watching as Abaddon launches his 13th Black
Crusade, knowing that if the Talismen of Vaul still exist he cannot resist the
temptation to use them. And if they do still exist, the Necrontyr are ready and
waiting, knowing they will get the chance to destroy these terrible weapons
should they still be complete.