Hell-Screamers

"God-Emperor save me... I can still hear the screaming!"

- Deranged Cadian Guardsman, shortly before receiving the Emperor's Peace

The Hell-Screamers are a Raptor Cult of some renown, consisting mostly of Night Lords. Led by the equally fearsome Acherius Erinyes, the Hell-Screamers sell their services to any Chaos Lord or Cult Leader in need of a powerful strike force, in return for technology, gene-stock, and the opportunity to sate their sadistic urges in battle. Because of their mercenary status amongst the forces of Chaos, this Raptor Cult has been present during some of the galaxy's bloodiest conflicts, and have caused quite a few atrocities during them.

Ancient Origins
During the Great Crusade, Hell-Screamers once known simply as the 35th Night Raptor Squad, a small group of fast attack specialists within the Night Lords' 13th Talon. That all changed with the arrival of a new recruit, a young Night Lord named Acherius Erinyes, who quickly integrated himself into the NIght Raptors almost as if he had been one of their number all along. With the death of their Huntmaster (although there are still rumors that the ambitious Erinyes orchestrated his demise), Einyes became the new Huntmaster, establishing himself as a competent if unforgiving leader. Eventually, Erinyes would become known amongst his brethren as "The Vulture", due to his habit of picking off the fleeing enemy one by one.

With the onset of the Horus Heresy, the 35th Night Raptor Squad began to develop their own twisted tendencies, such as their habit of letting out primal shrieks and screams preceding their attack, as to terrify their enemy. This earned the squad itself a new name, as their fellow Night Lords began to refer to the 35th Night Raptor Squad as the Hell-Screamers.

The Cult is Born
After the death of Konrad Kurze, Huntmaster Erinyes' pride and massive ego took over completely. Feeling humiliatied that he was not the one to have avenged the Primarch's death, Erinyes made plans to depart from the bulk of the Night Lords entirely. However, In order to do that, he would need new followers, and thus The Vulture hatched a plan to transform his small Raptor Squad into a fully-fledged Raptor Cult.

Contacting Kyber Rann, a member of the Night Raptor Squad known as the Daemon-Reapers, Erinyes struck a deal with the disgruntled Night Lord. Then, he contacted the Huntmasters of both the Daemon-Reapers and the Night Blades Raptor Squads, requesting a meeting aboard the Strike Cruiser Avenging Shadow. Little did the two know that they were being led into a trap, as Erinyes killed the leader of the Night Blades and Kyber Rann, having been promised a position as Erinyes' lieutenant within the Hell-Screamers. The rest of the Raptors, seeing how easily The Vulture had dealt with their respective Huntmasters, pledged their allegiance to Erinyes, and thus his Raptor Cult was born.