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THE INQUISITION
For ten thousand years the Emperor has reigned over the Imperium of Man. For ten thousand years his armies have conquered worlds and battled across the vastness of space in the defence of his empire. And for ten thousand years the forces of the Emperor’s Inquisition have fought a secret war to defend humanity from its worst enemies – the alien, the heretic and daemon.
This is a war fought as much with hearts and minds as with guns and blades. It is a war that must be fought without mercy, without end. It must be fought in the dark, forgotten places of the galaxy, where the light of the Emperor is but a dim flicker and the shadows of the forces that oppose him gather and grow strong. If the fight is lost, heresy and possession will run out of control and the Emperor, mankind’s saviour and protector, will be doomed.
Inquisitors of the Ordo Malleus have pledged their every waking hour to the discovery and scourging of the daemonic, wherever it is to be found.
But there are times when the scale of a daemonic infestation is such that even the most formidable and righteous Inquisitors need to call upon aid to triumph. Only one force in the breadth of the galaxy has any chance of stemming such a daemonic infestation: the Grey Knights.
THE GREY KNIGHTS
The Grey Knight Chapter of the Legiones Astartes serves as the fighting arm of the Ordo Malleus, the secret Daemon-hunting elite of the Inquisition.
Alone of all the Marine Chapters, the Grey Knights possess full knowledge of the terror of Chaos. Designated Chapter 666, they are the Chamber Militant of the Ordo Malleus, and the Grand Master of the Grey Knights is traditionally a member of the Inquisition. The Knights are among the most faithful of the Emperor's servants, fully the match of the Inquisition in their zeal to defeat those who would overthrow the Imperium and steal the souls of Mankind. Their bodies are rigorously trained to withstand great pain and fear. Their minds are disciplined by the thousand rituals of detestation to face the worst horrors of the warp without flinching. And their hearts are strengthened by the Emperor's faith.
Grey Knight Marines are specially screened to exclude all but the strongest and most resilient psykers. Most Knights have no psychic ability at all, and thus are relatively safe from daemonic possession. Some, however, are extremely potent psykers, judged strong and pure enough to pit their powers against creatures from the warp. Equipped with Nemesis Force Weapons and protected by Tactical Dreadnought Armour, these elite warriors can hope to oppose even the Greater Daemons of Chaos.
The Grey Knight psykers are trained to work in small, extremely mobile strike forces. These squads, and the necessary support and transport units, are deployed at strategic locations throughout the Imperium, ready to move rapidly to any planet facing daemonic invasion.
Grey Knights may be stationed in the field for decades at a time. And though to many the Chapter's homeworld is but a distant memory, it is every Knight's most cherished wish is to be buried in the chapel beneath the beloved fortress-monastery on Titan.
Surpassing even their brother Space Marines in skill and ability, the level of expertise that each Grey Knight wields is such that they can exterminate a daemonic infestation that outnumbers them many times over. Armed with psychically charged force weapons, storm bolters and an unshakeable faith in the Emperor, there is little more daunting a foe for a Daemon to face.
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