The Primarch Corvus Corax and his Raven Guard are amongst the most solemn and tragic chapters of the Adeptus Astartes. As a long-time Warhammer 40k lore aficionado, I‘ve charted the shadowed journey of this legion – from their cunning triumphs to the devastation inflicted upon them by treason.
In this piece, we will analyze Corax‘s origins as a freedom fighter, the unique capabilities he evolved, the heavy losses he bore, his quest for retribution and finally, speculation regarding the ominous legend he has become. So don your hooded black robes and steel your heart – we descend into darkness!
Origins on Lycaeus and the Art of Liberation
- "Let the oppressors taste fear and death until they gag on it!" – Corvus Corax during the Lycaeus Uprisings
Before unification with his father, Corax‘s infancy pod was displaced from the Emperor‘s gene-lab by the swirling tides of the warp. He emerged upon the grim mining planet Lycaeus where techno-barbarian warlord Konor Guidion ruthlessly exploited the people for mineral wealth.
As he grew older, the young Primarch rallied escaped prisoners and led them on daring strikes against Guidion’s holdings. Adopting hit-and-run tactics, Corax taught his followers how to appear suddenly without warning, inflict maximal damage and melt away before any reprisals. He became a spectral terror that symbolized hope for the oppressed.
When finally defeated, Guidion‘s rebel slaves renamed their world Deliverance in celebration of their hard-won liberty. Before leaving to take command of the XIX legion, Corax appointed his surrogate sister Kynska as steward of the liberated planet. This campaign cemented key tactics of stealth, covert-ops, decisive surgical strikes and exploiting terrain that Corax would impart unto his gene-sons.
Campaign Performance of Raven Guard Post-Discovery
| Campaign | World | Enemy Vanquished | Time to Complete |
|---|---|---|---|
| Secaris Compliance | Secaris V | Ork Waaagh! Skarjaw | 18 Terran days |
| Blood Eagle Mutiny | Talis IV | Traitor 33rd Hostile Regiment | 6 Terran hours |
| Castigation of Terentius | Terentius III | Night Lords Chaos Warband | 32 Terran days |
Analysis: Rapid completion times highlight effectiveness of combat doctrine even against significant numerical disadvantages. Display mastery of covert maneuvering, aerial-drops and remote strike capabilities.
Shadowed Abilities of the Ravenlord
"A being clad in jet-black warplate seeming to drink in the very light around it. Taloned gauntlets wreathed in crackling energy that tore through wrist-thick armor. And eyes as depthless and dark as the void between worlds. Truly this silent death was the avatar of oblivion made manifest."
– Extract from confiscated Night Lords document on observing Corax in battle.
As one of the Emperor‘s Primarchs, Corvus Corax possessed a superhuman physiology and warp-borne gifts tailor-made for stealth ops and asymmetric warfare. Let us analyze some of his notable capabilities more closely:
Umbra-Morphasis: Credible scholar works like Krole‘s "Deepest Shadows" speculate that exposure to unfiltered warp energy during his embryonic journey gifted Corax with limited shape-shifting abilities. Using extreme focus, the Primarch could effectively turn invisible or extremely difficult to perceive by manipulating how light interacted with him.
This ability to "melt away" even in open sight combined with his natural preference towards silence and surprise attacks made Corax a terrifying specter to enemy forces. Night Lords accounts state he seemed to manifest out of thin air right behind defenders before fading away post battle.
My Theory: By crowding their own sightlines with smoke, sensor-blocking birds or prepared kill-zones, Raven Guard likely enhanced opportunities for their gene-sire to utilize Umbra-Morphasis abilities mid-fight.
Avian Biology: Examinations of Corax‘s physiology detected several avian-style adaptations granting advantages in aerial movement or navigation via magnetic fields. Hollow, fragile bones made flight more efficient but offered less protection in melee. Multi-spectrum retina and reinforced neurons processed incredible battle data.
Additionally, Corvus seemed capable of directly commanding actual corvid creatures to act as extensions of his senses. Ravens frequently circled war zones the Ravenlord fought allowing for dynamic overview of engagements. Some loyalists even whispered of "eyes in the skies" monitoring them on behalf of their liege though such rumors are unproven.
The Mantle & Raven‘s Talons: As Primarch of the XIX Legion, Corax was equipped with master-crafted panopoly for brutal close-quarters engagements. Key items included:
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Mantle of the Ravenlord – Jet-black tactical dreadnought armor (Terminator Armor) custom tailored to not impede umbra-morphasis. Inlaid gold trim depicting Lycaeus campaign. Built-in teleport Homer and auspex sensors.
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Raven‘s Talons – Arcane archeotech lightning claws dredged from subterranean xenos ruins that Corax helped reclaim during Great Crusade. Crackles with gravitic disruption fields that shred armor on impact. Used to slay Alpharius in the legendary Derthekra Raid.
Drop Site Disaster and a Legion Sundered
Betrayal by their erstwhile brothers in the traitor coalition saw Corax and his loyal Raven Guard brutally ambushed at Istvaan V. Barely ten thousand Raven Guard survived the infamous "Drop Site Massacre" where four whole companies were culled without ceremony by the guns of treachery.
Reduced to a shattered remnants, Corax adapted to the brutal necessities of a guerilla war, unable to face their traitorous kin in open battle. Hit and fade attacks slowed traitor advances but years of attrition wore down survivors until facing extinction as a fighting force.
In desperation, Corax initiated the "Raptor" project – dangerously accelerating zygote implantation to rapidly swell the Raven Guard ranks. Flaws in this gene-tech would have nightmarish consequences but initial results seemed positive with fresh "Raptors" joining the fray quickly. Alas, the Ravens could not evade misfortune forever.
| Conflict | Strength | Casualties | % of Legion |
|---|---|---|---|
| Istvaan V Drop Site Massacre | ~80,000 | ~70,000 | 87.5% |
| The Tenakhran Ambush | ~3,000 | 1,211 Raven Guard | 40.4% |
| Silentanius Insurrection | ~800 Raptors | 572 Raptors (gene-flaw) | 71.5% |
Daemonic Corruption of the Raptors
Though accelerated zygote maturation helped rebuild devastated forces rapidly, extensive flaws soon surfaced in the Raptor cohorts. Unchecked aggression and blood-lust overtook these new recruits in battle. Certain Raptor Auxilia units even turned upon their kin, their sanity unhinged by chittering whispers audible only to them.
As maleficarum manifestation became undeniable, a horrified Corax realized his regenerative experiments had become tainted by the corrupting touch of the warp. The proud lord of Deliverance wept bitter tears as he was forced to organize mass purges of Raptors to contain further catastrophe even as his legion bled strength it could ill-afford to lose.
In the shadowed aftermath of this grim ordeal, with barbed self-recriminations tormenting his soul, Corvus Corax withdrew from his remaining sons into silent exile aboard the armored conveyor Shadow of the Emperor – deaf to all entreaties.
Bereft of their liege and now reduced to a severely depleted Chapter due to losses from both betrayal and their own doomed attempts at expedient regeneration, the Raven Guard seemed destined to fade away like mist under the light of a merciless sun. But fate had darker destinies yet in store for the sons of Deliverance.
Resurgence Through Primaris
Centuries later, as Guilliman‘s Indomitus Crusade gathered momentum through imploding warp storms, critical reinforcements finally arrived for the Raven Guard. Advanced Primaris Space Marines created by Belisarius Cawl‘s flawless gene-craft bolstered the shadows yet again.
These augmented warriors lacked the history and camaraderie with existing battle brothers but their mighty sinews and superior wargear injected sorely needed strength into the XIXth. With their numbers and morale partially restored, the sons of Corax continue their watch over Imperial space though still shorn of both resources and leadership.
But perhaps recent unofficial evidence hints at a pivotal reunion on the horizon.
Vengeful Apotheosis of the Ravenlord
For years after Corax‘s self-imposed isolation, the lingering Raven Guard could find no trace of their missing father by any means at their disposal. Some claimed the lord of Deliverance had taken his own life in penance. Many battle-brothers feared with heavy hearts that the legacy of their terminally wounded chapter would fade away like the retiring shadow-shapes that so characterized their Primarch‘s realm of misery.
Yet a sinister whispered legend has gradually disseminated amongst veterans of the Long War that preach of a different fate for the bereft Ravenlord. Traitor astartes who stood guard against the terrors of the warp in dread citadels speak of a malevolent spirit that manifests from nowhere and everywhere without warning before vanishing like a bad dream.
They describe this ephemeral monster as a blur of unlight and kinetic butchery that hacks apart power armor and flesh with savage ease. Bolt shells and blades seemingly pass harmlessly through its swirling darkness to the despair of the embattled. Flurries of black feathers spiral amidst the carnage as fell things swoop down to gleefully join the torment. The aether rings with merciless laughter echoing from all sides before lapsing into silence.
When the slaughter ends and emergency strobes finally illuminate the garish scene, no trace of the attackers can be found besides discrepant accounts and the flyblown remnants of the fallen. None can even agree whether their doom arrived on two legs or countless wings. Yet a mysterious hidden message can sometimes be found scrawled amongst the dead, in a script eerily akin to Colchisian runes yet maddeningly unclear even to the most doctrinaire cryptologists:
*"Deny fate, the call t** *** *** Redacted"
Though opaque, several references within this vatic passage suggest a long-banished ghost has returned to exact fearsome revenge against those who orchestrated the Drop Site Massacre and shattered his sons. Considering extant evidence, I believe these etheric raids could well be the exactions of Corvus Corax himself, now transformed through centuries of warp-exposure into a nightmarish instrument of retribution against those who murdered the Raven Guard.
Perhaps he has consciously become the literal darkness – shedding the boundaries of corporeal flesh to manifest as a coalescence of shadows with deep roots in the immaterium itself. Bereft of hope or vindication through conventional victory, the embittered lord of Deliverance has reshaped himself into an abstract scientific concept that even traitor sorcerers struggle to banish or defeat permanently. Now this relentless, revenant shade has but one baleful purpose that drives its actions – enacting vengeance.
For one who always embodied the essence of stealthy, sudden fury from the darkness, such an ominous evolution retains a chilling yet undeniable appropriateness. Truly even amongst the superlative Primarchs, Corvus Corax claimed a singularly tragic and terrifying apotheosis!
The Future of the Raven Guard
With the advent of Primaris reinforcements and possible return of their long-absent father, these are fascinating times for the oft overlooked XIXth Legion. While they may never regain the full strength they boasted even post-Istvaan, I believe the Raven Guard are far from spent as a force in the Imperium.
The bitter lessons of excessive haste combined with new warriors free from genetic flaws could see the Ravens reborn into an elite covert-ops force without match. Trained in stealth, subterfuge and killing strikes by their revenant Primarch himself, such silent Angels of Death would be perfectly tailored for invisible wars waged in the darkness.
And who knows, perhaps one day in the distant future when all but enshadowed memory of Roboute Guilliman has faded from record, it will be the baleful black gaze of the returned Ravenlord that surveys a strong, restored Legion secretly built for his sole command. A Legion no longer crippled by fate but ready to serve Corvus Corax as his uncompromising blades against the enemies of mankind.
As Guilliman himself states – "In the darkest nights, even eagles may envy crows."
Closing Musings
The Raven Guard have charted an uncommonly tragic journey even for this grimdark era. From unheralded triumphs to the brink of extinction constantly haunted by failed innovations, they are no strangers to adversity. Yet like the savage carrion-eaters that inform their iconography, the sons of Corax always managed to emerge from battle and eclipse, merciless and hungry for victory against staggering odds.
Now, with rumors swirling about their long-absent father‘s sinister return, the XIXth may be poised to retake their place as the Emperor‘s covert dagger against enemies unseen. If Corvus has indeed succeeded in surpassing the limits of physicality itself to manifest as a dark avenger, I eagerly anticipate the wrath he will visit on those who grievously wounded his erstwhile defenders of Liberty.
The Raven Guard‘s history has ever teemed with loss and sacrifice interwoven with moments of cunning triumph. As the 41st millennium approaches a new age of apocalyptic conflict, the warriors in black stand ready. Their blades are honed, their cause is justice and should Their liege truly come to roost again, no secret shall remain for long beneath the malevolent gaze of this Rookery of Ravens.
Let vengeance and redemption fly on sable wings! Ave Corvus! Ave Imperator!