Vile Blood

"Thou shall only slay by thine oath, and serve by no other. Hold sacred the blood most vile, for it is thy eternal blessing."

- A rare excerpt of Oath of the Sacred Blood, recorded by late Inquisitorial Acolyte Bram Rekeah

A crimson specter within the tumultuous River of Exiles, the Vile Blood is a force even the most stalwart of traitors implicitly fear. Striking seemingly at random and leaving nought but utter bloody ruin in their wake, these monstrous devotees of Khorne have terrified the Exile Sector and Imperium at large since their first official appearance in the final year of the 34th Millennium, known today as the Great Massacre of Arcadia V. However, attacks fitting their modus operandi have been common within the Exile Sector since 236.M34 if Inquisitorial records are to be believed.

The Vile Blood stand apart from their fellow traitors and brigands in several conspicuous ways, each of which has worked to cement their bloody legend within the minds of the peoples of both the River of Exiles and the greater Imperium. For the Vile Blood are no middling berzerkers, no mere madmen. To many within the Exile Sector, the Vile Blood are horror all their own.

Of their many strange traits, most conspicuous is to the sheer monstrous extent to which some of their number have been shaped and twisted by the fell energies of the Warp. So mutated are the Vile Blood that upon their first official contact with Imperial forces upon the world of Arcadia V, that Guard units were reportedly unsure if the enemy were Daemons or Xenos, and it was only after close inspection that they discovered to their horror that these beings were once human in shape. The Vile Blood bear into battle, not only blades and boltguns, but also savage rending claws and sword-like limbs. Great bladed talons, scaly hides, and chitinous exoskeletons fuse with fleshmetal Power Armor to create a visage terrible to behold for even the most stout hearted man. Almost all semblance of the holy form of the Astartes has been lost, having been claimed by mutation and trophies of war. So horrible and prevalent is this monstrous visage that many agents of the Inquisition and heretical mystics theorize that the Vile Blood are either all possessed by daemons or that they are subject to some powerful Warp-Curse (or blessing, depending on the perspective).

But their shape is not the only terrifying aspect of the Vile Blood, merely the most outward. Having taken the black blood oaths of Khorne, these monsters in the mocking shape of Astartes bring terror inducing phenomena in their relentless wake. Days before their invasions, soon to be besieged worlds report conspicuous astral phenomena, great Blood Moons wreathed in writhing red auroras. When the Vile Blood themselves finally arrive, realspace seems to almost rebel at their mere presence, a haze appearing about them and blood oozing from the walls.

But most peculiar is this Warbands uncharacteristic behavior. As opposed to what would be expect of such inhuman monsters dedicated to the bloody god of slaughter, the Vile Blood are hardly slathering, blood drunk berzerkers. Noted to hold themselves to a strict warrior code of honor and fair conflict, known as the Oath of Sacred Blood, a chivalric code of conduct that espouses fanatical values of martial honor and various battle rituals. Though the Vile Blood do indulge in more bestial practices such as the consumption of their foes flesh and bathing in their blood, they are known for strange practices that defy their horrific shapes and bloody creed. The Vile Blood have never been documented to directly kill civilian targets, and they abhor the use of underhanded tactics and torture. However, while they see such things below them, they do not often restrain their mortal followers, their Men at Arms, from such horrific acts in the name of the Blood God. Further adding to this dichotomy, the Vile Blood commonly speak in an archaic dialect of High Gothic, a diabolic tongue that only the more cultured and educated citizenry of the Imperium can understand. However, should a lowly "Peasant" earn the dubious honor of dueling a member of the Vile Blood in single combat, he will be addressed in a simpler but still rather elaborate dialect of Low Gothic.

Gene-Seed
While information on the Vile Blood is sealed by all but the highest Imperial authorities due to the daemonic nature of the Warband, even the Inquisition admits it knows much less than it would like about the inner workings of the Vile Blood. Most samples of Gene-Seed captured by Imperial authorities is so mutated and twisted that to definitively identify the linage that the Vile Blood hail from is all but impossible.

Most simply assume off hand that the Vile Blood were formerly Blood Angels Successors, citing their hunger for human flesh and hyper-aggressive combat doctrine. However, no Vile Blood encountered in the field of battle have shown the mad berzerker fury they should have if they had inherited the Blood Angel's horrible dual curses, as all members of the Vile Blood seem to be completely lucid.

However, Inquisitorial authorities have cited certain genetic sequences within what little Gene-Seed there is for study that are very similar to those sequences found in Dark Angels Astartes. This, combined with the knightly rituals and behaviors of the Vile Blood, have led some, even those few privy to this information within the Unforgiven, to suspect that the Vile Blood may very well be lost Sons of the Lion. Supporting this information are the records from the Battle of Datis, in which the Vile Blood specifically targeted the homeworld of the Lightbringers Chapter in an attempt to raid the Dias' Gene-Seed banks. It is likely that a Warband so obsessed with personal legacy would seek out Gene-Seed that shares their linage in order to create another generation of damned Traitor Marines.

While extensive mutation makes an exact approximation on genetically ingrained habits within the Vile Blood all but impossible, field observes have noted several behavioral habits that the Vile Blood as a whole share. First and foremost members of the Vile Blood are noted as naturally superstitious, taking great confidence in perceived omens and lucky symbols. Thus they regularly decorate their hideous forms with various icons and trophies, in an attempt to war off misfortune on the battlefield. Vile Blood are also considered to be remarkably sensitive to idols and icons of the Imperial Cult, having been reported to shy away from consecrated sites and even recoil at the sight of the traditional Aquilla hand gesture done by faithful Imperial citizens. Unfortunately this has led to some assuming that such icons can harm or permanently ward off the Vile Blood, when in fact the discomfort is mild and likely, temporary. It is likely that, considering the Vile Bloods superstitious instincts, that they consider holy Imperial signs as bad omens, and thus wish to avoid them for fear of being "tainted" with the bad luck these symbols of the enemy hold.