Fiction:Brotherhood of Darklings/Maccabre Empire

"We are bacteria writhing the corpse of enlightenment, gnawing, eating away at it. Rejoice in our task, or be eaten away as well."

- Declaration of the Smothering Hands.

The Smothering Hands are those who swore their allegiance to Master Bloran, or as they call him, Papa Bloran, due to his loving nature, and paternal care given to his soldiers, despite their horrific looks. They are led by Tumorak Bilios, the former Medic Commander of the Plague Guardians. Tumorak's thoughts became corrupted to Bloran since long, though he saw him as a kindred spirit instead of an enemy, and continued to fight for the UAE the same way as he had before. As the Plague Guardians, led by their Ahrat, were fighting against a full infection of Bio-Morphlings, Tumorak was sent by him to get reinforcements. Reaching for their ships with half of the Plague Guardians, Tumorak went against his orders for once and did not leave, as persistence was the Plague Guardians' greatest virtue.

Insead, using a decayed artefact in the hanger bay of his ship, he summoned forth ravenous hordes of Dark-Morphlings to push back the Bio-Morphlings, as a putrid mist envelopped him and the Olympians with him, transforming them into the first Rot Troopers, as they returned to bring death to the Iron Skulls. To their surprise, the Plague Guardians opened fire on their disease-ridden brothers, as they had become the very embodyments of the plagues they themselves fought so tirelessy against. Embittered, Tumorak and the tainted half of the Guardians fled to their ships, renaming themselves the Smothering Hands.

As such, they prefer to fight them above all others, even having been known to temporally side with the Iron Skulls to archieve victory over them. That said, the Smothering Hands fight as much against the Iron Skulls as they fight alongside them, if not more so.

Corruption
Bilios was corrupted long ago, the exact time unknown. Bloran had always had an interest in the Plague Guardians, for they shared a vaccination with disease like himself, and a rather academic nature. Knowing he could not corrupt their ever stubborn Arhat, he decided that it would be best to corrupt the Medic Commander and Chief Scientist among the Plague Sentinels. Instead of immediately trying to corrupt the Olympian, like his kin, he instead offered him advice and "tutored" him, Bilios seeing him as a kindred spirit, and Bloran assisting him indirectly in many pitched battles, and aiding him in finding the cures against many diseases he had egineered himself for that purpose. He, however, knew he could not directly corrupt Tumorak with his Mark, as if the Olympian's body would begin to show the mutations of a Darkling servant, and Tumorak himself would find out Bloran's true nature.

As Bilios fought for the Alliance, Bloran reached out to others, passively infiltrating their minds, but never over-reaching, simply offering each one helpful advice and observing them in action and the like, deciding which ones would be the most useful to his plan to create his own legion of Dark Olympians. Though his brothers and sisters wondered why he took so long, Bloran hushed their thoughts. He would do things his way, not wanting to rush too fast into the final result. After all, the best science experiments happened when one waited, paid their time, and executed their plan without overlooking key details.

Finally, for all his waiting, the opportunity finally showed itself to Bloran.

Betrayal to the Brotherhood
Th Plague Guardians had always been a rather small, but elite group, created for one purpose only; to deal with plague species of various kinds, including the Infectants, Titans of Corpulus, and Morphlings. As such, when an large group of Bio-Morphlings unexpectedly attacked an alliance world, the Plague Sentinels were the first to be called in. The fighting grew rough for the Sentinels, as the Morphlings pushed into their defensive formations with extreme vigor. While continuing his fight against their old foes, the Arhat of the Plague Guardians knew they could not win against such a force, and ordered Tumorak to get reinforcements. However, the Bloran's voice in his head grew louder then before, almost over-powering his stubborn will. Bloran told him that reinforcements would take too long, and he would doom his brothers, and the gene-seed of their chapter, to Morphling infestation. The Darkling told that he had a solution, one that would be short and far more useful.

Following his instructions, Tumorak, and several of the Plague Sentinels, some not in Bloran's fold, went to an artifact Tumorak had retrieved, the very one that had begun their corruption, and activated it with a dark ritual. Springing to life, a black and green mist overtook them, as Shadow Morphlings appeared, their insectiod forms rising from the shadows themselves, as the bodies of Tumorak and his brothers, and many Valhallans, became twisted and infected with rot.

Going down to the planet with his new allies, the Dark-Morphlings easily overpowered their organic kin, as the two Plague Guardian forces pushed back the Bio-Morphlings, who where surprised by the arrival of such a disgusting group. The Arhat, shocked and disgusted by what Tumorak and his comrades had allowed themselves to become, ordered his troops to open fire on them, driving them off, as they took the ships of the Chapter Fleet and left.

Arriving in a desolate world, the Dark Olympians and their allies arrived, landing on the planet, having come their thanks to the voice of lord Bloran. Landing on the world, Tumorak and his troops finally met their new master, as their bodies slowly began to rot further away. Promising his new servants vengeance in exchange for service, the Smothering Hands where born, joining the ranks of many other corrupted Olympians.

Culture
The Smothering Hands, while disgusting and seeing disease as a gift, are very welcoming and helpful group, being among the few that will not slaughter civilians, and being very nice to women and children, though this mostly pertains to their cultists and heretic members, most Olympians keeping their distance. Bloran treats all his servants equally, and, as such, a Cultist has much more opportunity to rise to command then in other Warbands.

As part of this, no one is treated as Canon fodder, and cultists are given better weapons then those of other warbands to fulfill their tasks. Still, their loyalty to their Olympian commanders causing many to willingly subject themselves to the treatment of canon fodder and throw themselves at their foes.

Despite generally being more friendly and respectful, the Smothering hands are still an aggressive force of demon worshippers, and are willing to use biologic warfare against their enemies, under the believe that they are freeing their victims from the suffering of flesh by spreading disease.

Appearance
Most members of the original Warband are noted for their pus-filled, mutilated appearance, rotting away, with disfigured faces, swollen, or even burst stomachs, and organs flowing out. Some have non-functioning eyes, and their armor, now a fetid green and black, like Bloran himself, and usually with parts decaying or in disrepair. All would have skin that was literally smothered with diseased mulch and stinking slime, leading to their new name. Their helmets differ from others, having a spike on the top, and usually a more dome-shaped helm.

However, while all lower troopers are covered in many strains of dark bacteria, many higer-ups serve as the willing hosts for Bloran's larger creatures. An Olympian might start out being just filled with the gut-bloat bacteria, but, after rising in rank, have his ripped out and used replaced with giant gut-worms. When rising even higher, the gut-worms would pupate and leave, as the empty stomac cavity is now being used as a burrow for one of Bloran's prized slime-boas. The higher one gets in rank, the larger the creatures Bloran gifts his servants to fuse with.

As such, the most high-ranked of the Smothering Hands would be so mutated that whole parts of their bodies are liquified, as Master Bloran personally attaches his most prized experiments to them, just as high-ranking Shadowed Claws often have parts of their bodies replacec with alchemical mineral structures. Unlike the body-changing gifts Zorax bestows upon his favored, the gfts of Bloran often have a mind of their own, as the Darkling-egineered creature sucks vital juices fom the servant as much as the servants draws strength form the creature, in a dually-parasitic symbiosis that greatly pleases the Darkling scientist. Many high-ranking Sorcerers would have their vocal chords completely rotted away, now speaking via the controlled, disgistingly wet squirms Bloran's little parasites made inside their bodies, forming words and sentences by wriggling inside their host's bodies.

Olympians
Dark Troopers=
 * Weapons - Bolters, chain swords, other weapons.
 * Defenses - Powered armor.

Rot Troopers=
 * Weapons - Blighted Bolters, Pleghm launchers, other heavy weapons.
 * Defenses - Decayed body, powered armor.

Scourge Troopers=
 * Weapons - Chain Swords, chain axes, pistols.
 * Defenses - Powered armor.

Mutilator=
 * Weapons - Blade weapons and claws.
 * Defenses - Mutated armor.

Plague Veteran=
 * Weapons - Storm Bolter, Plague sword
 * Defenses - Tactical Contemptor armor.

Cultists/other
Cultist=
 * Weapons - Assault rifles, swords, side-arms, other.
 * Defenses - Light armor/nothing.

Fallen Trooper=
 * Weapons - Blaster Rifles, grenades.
 * Defenses - Flak armor.

Individuals
Tumorak Bilios=
 * Name - Tumorak Bilios
 * Position - Supreme Speaker of the Plague Lord
 * Species - Formerly Liev

Vairax=
 * Name - Vairax Balcar
 * Position - Champion
 * Species - Unknown

Hedorax=
 * Name - Hedorax
 * Position - Sorcerer
 * Species - Ugandalorian

Quotes from others

 * Add your own!