Major Faction Tiantang Torched

Detailed Description

After the conquest of the Croke and Gundanbard, only one significant political entity remained in the region between the Brotherhood of the Maw's territory and the Chiss Ascendancy: the Tianese Empire. Small and isolated, it was nonetheless geopolitically relevant. The Jin Emperor, ruling from Tiantang, had been greatly reduced in power by an uprising of Kagan-Jin steppe nomads some years earlier, but still controlled a network of rich colony worlds at the galaxy's far northern edge. The Brotherhood coveted these worlds, partly because of the resources that could be plundered for them, and partly because they were a perfect jumping-off point from which to assault the Chiss.

Still reduced in numbers by the ferocious clash at Mar'Zambul, the Brotherhood moved more cautiously in its assault on Tiantang. Rather than deploy a vast fleet and army for an immediate, shock and awe invasion, the Heathen Priests deployed three separate strike forces: one to assassinate the Tianese emperor, one to destroy the Fangshi Order (his most powerful supporters), and one to recruit the Kagan-Jin nomads, who would then be used to subjugate the planet without significant losses to the Maw's own troops. The first two forces were led by powerful Warlords, Zachariel Steelblood and Maestus respectively, and their most elite troops. The third was led by the Taskmaster Tu'teggacha.

Upon arrival, the Taskmaster found the Kagan-Jin restless, eager for glory. Their old Khaan, Temujin, had been the one to break Tianese control over much of the planet; he had even slain an emperor and taken his daughter as a concubine. But now his successor, Ogedei, was Khaan, and he was much more cautious. Tu'teggacha played on the young ruler's doubts and fears, showing him that inaction would lead the Great Horde to deem him unworthy to lead. As an alternative, the Taskmaster offered the Brotherhood's support in carrying out a great conquest, one that would cement Ogedei's power by helping him to lead the Horde to victory. Easily manipulated, Ogedei soon accepted.

With the aid of the Brotherhood fleet, which fired precision blasts from orbit to disable enemy defenses, the Great Horde descended on the rich trade city of Guangzuishan. The walls were swiftly reduced to rubble by the Maw bombardment, and the Kagan-Jin flooded the streets, killing and looting. The blockade in orbit continued to provide close support to ensure that no high-value targets escaped, though they permitted a trickle of refugees to flee over the ocean in order to spread fear of the coming conquest. With the city utterly plundered, Ogedei surrendered to the promise of yet more loot and glory, and committed his Great Horde to fight alongside the marauders of the Hidden Maw.

At the same time, Maestus led an elite force of marauders to the Fangshi-Da Temple, supported by several of Kyrel Ren's secretive Ren warriors. The Fangshi Order was the planet's primary Force-using tradition, and was responsible for educating the Force-sensitive heirs of the Emperor. Only by wiping them out could the Brotherhood ensure that the Jin Dynasty would not rise again, and that no significant threats would remain on the planet. Initially, the marauders faced little resistance, easily scything through the novice monks who tended the temple's gardens. As they entered the temple itself, however, they soon found themselves facing warriors well-trained in martial arts and Force powers.

The struggle over the temple culminated in an intense duel, with the marauder warleader The Mongrel and the Knight of Ren Sinh facing down the council of Fangshi Masters. It was a desperate struggle that left both men near death, but incredibly, they were winning... until the Grand Master of the order arrived, easily flinging them aside. Fortunately, both Maestus and Kyrel Ren soon located the meditation chamber where the duel was taking place. Their combined power swiftly overwhelmed even the mighty Grand Master, and he disappeared into the Force as he was cut down, leaving behind an empty robe. The beautiful temple, now conquered, was soon pillaged of its treasures and secrets.

Meanwhile, Zachariel Steelblood and his chosen marauders - most notably the cruel and clever Kryll - fought their way through the Imperial Palace. They faced difficult odds. The palace had been constructed not only as a powerful defensive fortress, but as a literal deathtrap for intruders, with hidden pits, blades, and blasters awaiting any who tried to pass through it without the Emperor's permission. The Imperial Guard defended the palace with fanatical devotion, having trained for generations to defend the Emperor with their lives, even to the last breath. Still, the power and savagery of the Brotherhood could not be contained, and the strike force pushed through to reach the throne room.

The Fangshi Emperor was but a shadow of his ancestors, those who had hunted the planet's dragons and carved out an ordered civilization from the wilderness... but he was still a warrior of incredible power, strong in the Force and deadly with his blade. The duel that followed was intensely brutal, with grievous wounds dealt out to both sides. But in the end, no one could be more brutal than the terrifying warlord Steelblood. The Emperor fell, and with him the last hope for an independent Tiantang. In a single day, the three targeted strikes had crippled the Tianese Empire. Brotherhood invaders descended on the other cities of Tiantang, and of the fallen empire's colonies, killing and looting.

Soon, the entire star cluster that the Tianese had settled was under the Maw's brutal rule. Kagan-Jin steppe warriors were inducted into the Brotherhood's ranks as marauders, replenishing the terrible losses they had taken in prior conquests. The survivors of Tiantang's ravaged cities were rounded up and put to work as forced laborers, or tortured and reborn as slave-soldiers. Strip mines and pollutant-belching factories crept across the surface of the once-pristine planet, new forges to feed the Maw's endless hunger for conquest. In the skies above, many fleets joined together in one massive invasion force, their prows pointed in one unified direction: at the very heart of Chiss space.

Soon, another vessel joined them in the wait for their greatest strike yet. It was huge, spherical, and ravenous for the blood of an entire planet...