Kabal of the Consuming Flame

Index Xenos: Kabal of the Consuming Flame

The Kabal of the Consuming Flame is a large kabal, like any other in structure, with a few notable alterations. It was formed in late M38 after High Archon (then Dracon) Farath Müre forcibly deposed Archon Var'Thunaas of the Kabal of the Splintered Bone, which he then renamed and remade. Since then, they have quietly absorbed other, weaker kabals to reach the point they are currently at.

Physical Characteristics

The Kabalites of the Consuming Flame are no different physically than other Eldar. Any minor differences can be attributed to the environment of the world they use as a base and the modifications performed to keep them from dying to its threats. Most of them have respiratory tracts and mucous membranes specifically altered to endure the gritty ash outside the compounds, thanks to their strong ties to the Haemonculi of the Hex.

Homeworld

The Kabal of the Consuming Flame maintains deceptively small holdings in Commoragh, leading many other kabals to underestimate the Consuming Flame. The buildings are extremely well fortified, guarded by the elite of the kabal's trueborn and all warriors currently in the compound. In the center of the compound is the throne room and private quarters of High Archon Farath Müre, though these are currently occupied by his daughter, Archon Vaelia, who has command over the Commorite territory. The Kabal often deals with the local Hellion gangs by bribing them with realspace raids, slaves, and weapons, and also keeps close relations with local Scourges. These methods help to keep the Kabal's Commorite territory firmly under their grasp, both by giving the airborne locals a reason to support the Kabal if their territory is attacked by another Kabal and by helping to keep their airspace clear.

However, the holdings in Commoragh are considered a fallback. A highly volcanic world, with bubbling springs of lava and a very toxic atmosphere, is used as a primary base of operations, with various webway portals linking the compounds to the buildings in Commoragh. Some parts of the compounds are more a part of the webway than of realspace. This planet is used to sate the pyromania encouraged among the kabalites and train them to endure harsh, hostile environments. It has also served as a testing ground for eruption-inducing weapons and techniques of rapidly diverting lava flows. The planet itself is unnamed by the Imperium, who see nothing of value beneath its thick, ashy clouds. They know that the environment is too hostile to be settled, and it was lost by bureaucratic error in early M39.

This planet was further concealed from the Imperium when the Kabal managed to draw it and its sun into a long-abandoned webway subrealm that they reclaimed from its prior denizens. So far, this subrealm is separate from Commoragh, a situation Farath Müre maintains by remaining relatively loyal to Vect (or at least not acting against him). Some portions have since been carefully developed and crafted into a continent-spanning tectonically stable region, upon which the Kabal has built a hedge of bladelike buildings and fortifications, with ornate palaces for the High Archon and the lesser lords that act as his inner circle. These palaces are yet more heavily fortified, and each one serves as a linchpin in the subrealm's defenses, with the High Archon's palace serving as the administrative center as well.

The Kabal's fleet is smaller than most, due to their ability to open large webway portals to a target from a greater "distance" in the webway. This led them to create several hidden outposts in the webway to allow for rapid redeployment of their forces, in a sort of a "portal network." All of these redoubts are ostensibly aligned with other Dark Eldar groups, should they be found. These capabilities also would allow the Kabal to use very effective guerrilla tactics against rivals in open war with another Kabal, though they have not yet needed to reveal this on that scale.

First Contact

First contact between the Imperium of Man and the Kabal of the Consuming Flame occurred in 102.M39 on the hive world of Requiem, in the Segmentum Pacificus. The Consuming Flame made planetfall above the planetary governor's palace and several key strategic emplacements, taking each quickly before they proceeded to wipe out the PDF and start transporting the vast amount of new slaves home. The forces on Requiem had managed to signal for help, however. The signal reached a nearby force of Ultramarines, who responded quickly. None returned from the planet.
The last transmission from the Ultramarine force that reached other Imperial forces spoke of a world swathed in ash and toxic gasses, the result of a supervolcanic eruption, and massive firestorms sweeping through the parts of the hives where the invaders met with greatest resistance. The flames funneled defenders out into the open, where they could be easily incapacitated and captured. The ash limited the Space Marine response by making a thunderhawk insertion more risky, forcing them to rely on drop pods. Kabalite forces concentrated their firepower on emerging marines while ravagers and razorwings blasted apart some of the pods in transit. The transmission was sent less than a week before the raid is thought to have ended.

Combat Capabilities

The Consuming Flame can field large amounts of warriors, like any other kabal, but they are not the heart of the kabal's might. Rather, they thrive on maneuverability, rarely deploying a squad on the ground (rather, they focus on transports, including multiple specialized variants of Raider). They also work very closely with the wych cult they patronize exclusively, the Cult of the Veridian Flash, to get dedicated close combat troops, along with the multiple incubi shrines within their Commorite holdings.

The Unburnt are an elite group of trueborn, handpicked by Archon Farath Müre himself. They are used in most major engagements, wielding the heat lances the kabal produces to cut through enemy tanks and the fortifications of the lesser races with contemptuous ease. They are intended as a more versatile form of shock troops than incubi, and are lavishly equipped, with each Unburnt carrying at least a splinter rifle, a splinter pistol, and a duelling knife, though many put aside the pistol and knife for the hellglaives popularized by hellions, or trade their rifles for shardcarbines. Some have even been seen wearing elaborate suits of expensive ghostplate. They serve their Archon as an honor guard of sorts outside of combat, though he surrounds himself with incubi bodyguards in combat

Technology

The Consuming Flame is notable for heavy use of neurotoxins that make the victim feel as though they were set on fire, and for their production of some of the best heat lances in Commoragh. They have also perfected an object which allows them to make short-lived "shortcuts" in the Webway, eliminating much of the need for a fleet. This has already been placed on a variant of raider, though the weaponized form cannot create many stable portals, being designed to instead shunt enemies into sealed-off sections of the Webway. To avoid being perceived as a threat, Farath Müre has of course shared this potent new weapon with Overlord Vect, but no one else. Their conflicts with the Imperium suggest that they also have ways to trigger volcanic eruptions, destroying entire cities in swift, apocalyptic moments.

Social Structure

At the top of the Kabal is High Archon Farath Müre. The Archon commands several sub-Archons, who each command several Dracons, who in turn command the Trueborn. Below the Trueborn exist the Kabalite warriors. The trueborn of the Unburnt answer only to Farath Müre. The Haemonculi Ancients of the Hex Coven and the Succubi of the Wych Cult of the Howling Tempest are given the same respect as one of Farath Müre's most “trusted” sub-Archons, but they exist outside of the Kabal structure.

Each lesser Archon and the Dracons from the part of the Kabal that Farath Müre himself commands act as a council of advisers to the High Archon, and each bears a specialty command, such as administration of the Commorite holdings or command of the few ships the Kabal maintains. Their positions are tenuous, and they need to report back to him at regular intervals to give a status report of their forces and receive orders. However, they have the authority to lead their own realspace raids, though approval from the High Archon is required, and they are debriefed along with their lieutenants after.

High Archon Farath Müre frequently manipulates several minor Space Marine Chapters, often making sure that they are warned of the raids of rival kabals. He also tries to work with the Exodites and Craftworlders whenever convenient, and has helped to reclaim several Maiden Worlds, though he still looks down on the puritanical fools and cowards. After all, they're still Eldar, of a sort, not quite as bad as the truly lesser races. Besides, the lore of their farseers has proven a boon frequently, granting him vital information on enemy defenses, leading to very few casualties in many important attacks, and giving him insight into the plans of his rivals and underlings. Most of these dealings are with Craftworld Biel-Tan, as they share his ultimate goal of putting the Mon-keigh back in their place and rebuilding the Eldar Empire. More unusually, hulking mon-keigh in blue and green powered armor bearing a hydra insignia occasionally meet either with the High Archon himself or his agents, suggesting that their plans and Müre's somehow coincide.

Threat Index and Imperial Policy

The Imperium largely disregards the Kabal of the Consuming Flame as a threat. However, some Inquisitors of the Ordo Xenos who study the Dark Eldar have a hunch that that race was somehow involved in some of the operations undertaken by several minor Chapters. A few of the more insightful ones even suspect a connection with the raids of the Consuming Flame and various massacres of Space Marines by other forces. Inquisitor Lord Nihilius Ohotnik of the Ordo Xenos and a half-company of Deathwatch have begun attempting to find patterns in the Kabal's actions in realspace in an effort to stop the raids once and for all. However, the Inquisitor has found a problem: every time he thinks that he has found a pattern or a trend in the Kabal's targets, it is subverted. All he knows is that similar attacks occur semifrequently in the Segmentum Pacificus against various vulnerable targets, and occasionally against strategic locations. He is beginning to expect a spy among his followers.

Personalities of the Kabal:

High Archon Farath Müre
Some put their faith in terrifying the foe before the assault, stripping the morale from their warriors before striking. Others rely on lightning raids against the enemy forces. These work quite well, but are somewhat limited. They will not always open up or clear out a fortress, they will not entirely strip the foe's agricultural and industrial capabilities, and worst of all, they fail to treat the lesser races like the vermin they truly are. What is the answer to this problem? What did you fail to do, that led to you being here? Why, burn them out of their filthy holes. Set fire to their crops, their factories. Watch them flee before the firestorms, and watch them burn when they are overtaken. Witness the elemental power of the flames, for you shall be fed to them, as consequence of the failure that allowed me to take your pitiful "Kabal". High Archon Farath Müre, to the previous Archon of the (now absorbed by the Consuming Flame) Kabal of the Fractured Soul in the aftermath of a failed raid on a Tau world.

High Archon Farath Müre is, like almost all Archons, devious, ruthless, piratical, ambitious, and lethal. Unlike most, however, he is a true pyromaniac, to the point of setting entire continents ablaze before his forces enter to complete the raid, in the belief that crippling the enemy defenses (and creating pretty fire) is worth losing potential slaves. He also has a tendency to execute foes and failures by incinerating them. This pyromania also manifests in a pair of weapons concealed under each bracer of his ghostplate: small flamethrowers which, despite their size, are as powerful as an Imperial heavy flamer, and can be fired with a flick of the wrist, though they only have enough fuel to be used once in a battle. His other primary weapon is a powered spear designed to burn hotter than other power weapons. When charged, it can even cut through a battle tank. More recently, he has armed himself rather conventionally, likely out of boredom, with a huskblade and an envenomed dueling knife.

Another point where he differs is that he sees value in the Craftworlders and Exodites, or more specifically their prescient Farseers; enough to come to their aid against Mon'keigh, Tau, Orks, and other races (including even other Commorites) in exchange for knowledge of the plots of rivals. So far, it's worked well. This is partly an extension of his firm belief that the Eldar must cooperate if the Empire is to rise again and the vermin usurpers put into their rightful place. Harlequins usually act as intermediaries between the Kabal and several Craftworlds, including Biel-Tan, likely because the Archon's aims are of use to theirs.

He is rarely in the Commorite holdings of the Kabal now, leaving their administration to his daughter Vaelia. Instead, he holds his own court in a carefully shielded chamber in the heart of a volcano on the world the Kabal holds. All of the slaves and overseers who worked to build it were put to death after the fortress was completed, so that only the High Archon would know the secrets of the defense mechanisms. Many believe that the honeycomb of passages within the mountain that contain his personal rooms and house his bodyguards and the Unburnt are actually a small Webway subrealm, independent of Commoragh.

Archon Vaelia Müre
Vaelia Müre is the third trueborn daughter of the High Archon. She, as well as several other particularly adept individuals, serves as a sort of "Sub-Archon," above the Dracons and given authority to carry out raids and sit on the High Archon's council of advisers and generals. Each of these Archons commands a section of the Kabal's forces, and through their plotting they keep Farath Müre sharp and cunning. Vaelia commands the forces stationed in Commoragh, under an elaborate cover story of having overthrown her father. She is vain, cruel, and therefore largely unremarkable, were it not for her own skill as a commander and notable intellect. However, she is surprisingly loyal to her father, almost unnaturally so in comparison to the typical Dark Eldar. Her task is to make the Kabal seem just strong enough to easily maintain its Commorite holdings and fight the typical skirmishes with other Kabals over territory.

Dracon Daevos Kaluthian
Daevos Kaluthian is the most influential of Farath Müre's dracons. While he is extended no special trust, he is given authority over a greater portion of the Kabal's warriors than the other two dracons. Unusually, he has no desire to overthrow his Archon. His position as a dracon has allowed him to execute his own missions and raids, almost always against similar targets. He spent time with rangers from Alaitoc before he joined the Kabal of the Splintered Bone, and learned of the ancient war with the Necrontyr and the threat they posed. Along with the band of rangers, he had learned how to disrupt Tomb Worlds, and eventually decided to work against the Necrons when possible. His position makes this significantly easier, though his personal war puts him at odds with his master's dislike of the Imperium.

First: You didn't steal the format. It's the format used by the old White Dwarf articles.

I'm gonna break down my thoughts/suggestions/etc by group.

Physical Characteristics
Who did the surgeries? Give the Haemonculi Coven credit. You can either make your own Coven up, or use an existing one. I prefer using some existing fluff because it lends a feel of credibility. For example, the Shadow Wraiths utilize the Coven of Twelve.

Homeworld
Why would a small Kabal hold moderate holdings? This needs to be expanded upon. What have they taken from others to get the grounds they do have?

Combat Capabilities
How does the Consuming Flame succeed by using minimal ground forces? What do they use to minimalize their ground commitment?

I don't think Incubi would suffer the indignity of having ceremonial guards working in their vicinity. Incubi are very much vain glory seekers. Scourges are highly sought after by the Kabals. I don't think Scourges would tend a bonfire. That is a menial task.

Social Structure
You need to fix this heading. It isn't bolded and is directly under the previous section without spacing. You mention the Hex Coven here. They should also be mentioned as the Coven (if they did them) that provided the altering surgeries. Claiming to manipulate Grey Knights is quite a stretch. That's along the same lines as saying the Dark Eldar had a hand in the Heresy, in my opinion. There's no way with all the Inquisitors roaming around with the GK that some manipulation hasn't been noticed. As to killing Slaanesh... Um... He's a God. Not only just a God, but one of the most powerful of the Four. I'll be interested in seeing how you take this any further. Why would a self-serving Archon help maiden crone worlds? You need to expand on this. Dark Eldar will use a Craftworlder in the Arenas. They are a lesser race. They've slipped into an existence of mediocrity that has lead to their inevitable extinction.

Overall Thoughts
Use specifics. Details are your friend.

I’d be really careful with plotting to kill high profile story arch characters. Official named characters are pretty much off limits. Killing Slaanesh is a lofting goal for anyone let alone the Dark Eldar. Their souls, like the Craftworlders, are his favorite treat. As to manipulating the Grey Knights, I’m going to have to say that’s not very likely. Manipulating a lesser Space Marine Chapter, sure, but GK is pushing the bill a little too far.

I look forward to seeing how you evolve your IX article more. Keep up the good work.

Some alterations made as suggested. I moved away from some earlier ideas (though I still like the concept of using the most stalwart defenders of Mankind for one's own ends) and got a good reason to help Craftworlders and Exodites in.

Excellent so far. If you're wanting to keep an Inquisition puppet, I'd suggest a minor Inquisitor Lord form the Ordo Heriticus, using Ravenor as my source. Gideon (the inquisitor) worked with Craftworlders repeatedly. This Inquisitor would no doubt be a radical, and if discovered would lead to his death and put your Kabal at no small risk should he ever be interrogated.

Xelkireth wrote:

Excellent so far. If you're wanting to keep an Inquisition puppet, I'd suggest a minor Inquisitor Lord form the Ordo Heriticus, using Ravenor as my source. Gideon (the inquisitor) worked with Craftworlders repeatedly. This Inquisitor would no doubt be a radical, and if discovered would lead to his death and put your Kabal at no small risk should he ever be interrogated.

That could be interesting. A nice element of risk, though a contingent method of immediately killing him (painfully, of course) is necessary to mitigate that. I'll look into that.

Edit: Perhaps a termination method incorporated into him by the Hex at some point? That has potential.

Added some more information, including a "Personalities of the Kabal" section in the reserved post, and a bit in the "Technology" and "Threat Index and Imperial Policy" sections.

Nicely done. I can't wait to see more.

Made further elaboration on the Unburnt, along with other minor changes.

I like it, looks quite well thought out. I think there are a few things that need expanding, a perfect example being the first contact:
"The signal reached a nearby force of Ultramarines, who responded quickly. None returned from the planet."
This is just asking for a battle scene or a brief look into the tactics of the kabal and the use of the foresight of the farseers your Archon uses. somthing along the likes of the Spaces Marines struck swiftly but were outmanuevered at ever turn, either the Dark Eldar were not where they were meant to be or ambushed their landing zones with a regularity bordering on the prescient.

I also agree with Xelkireth, you say they are a small kabal yet have moderate holdings in Commorragh & even have an entire planet for themselves as there main base. with these resources and Commorragh being a fall back, I'd change it to a moderate kabal with diceptively small holdings on Commorragh for it size as most of their warriors are planetside. this also means the other kabals don't know its true strength and will underestimate it, allowing for easier manipulations.
I'd also like to see the description of the planet expanded, you could even give it a name! I think this would be a good opportunity to expand on the pyromanical preferences of your archon. you've already said that it is a highly volcanic planet strewn with ash, but I think you could add more such as lava flows and burning sulphur pits light up the ash filled sky creating an eeire orange half light.

Having just read the Serpant beneath there is a nice section detailing the Alpha Legion manipulating the orks to put up a fiercer resistance to the White Scars by diverting lava flows to channel the orks together in strategic locations. I could imagine that the Dark Eldar could use something similar on the Marine Chapters.

As on of the other posters details are your friend and I think this really holds true for your work. You have a very nice framework here, which I think can go a long way. I look forward to reading more.

All right then, there are now a few more additions. I'll see if I can think up a less-clichéd dracon idea later.

Nice I like the changes, although I would think about changing the repetition here:

The Kabal of the Consuming Flame maintains deceptively small holdings in Commoragh. The buildings are extremely well fortified,

The kabal's Commorite territory is deceptively small, but well defended,

Also territory & grounds kinda mean the same thing to me, I am not really sure why you need 2 paragraphs. Also from my understanding of the codex, the hellions, reavers & scourges all comptete for airspace around the spires of upper Commoragh. Hellions being miscreant, don't really care about who owns what patch of land & Scourges are kinda elite and perch on whatever spire they choose.

something you could change it to to be a bit more streamlined is:

The Kabal of the Consuming Flame maintains deceptively small holdings in Commoragh, leading many other kabals to underestimate the Consuming Flame. The buildings are extremely well fortified, guarded by the elite of the kabal's trueborn and all warriors currently in the compound. In the center of the compound is the throne room and private quarters of High Archon Farath Müre. The Kabal keeps many underhand dealings with the local Hellion gang, bribing of hellion gangs with realspace raids, slaves, and weapons as well as keeping a close relationship with the Solairites of the scourges, paying them to keep away unwanted guests.
Their fleet is smaller than most, mostly because it's been deemed largely unnecessary due to their invasionary tactics. (maybe expand, or put Ref. Kabal tactics.)

Yeah, thought that part needed a lot more work after making those changes, just hadn't felt like dealing with it at that moment. Still, fixed now, with another addition.

Nice! I like your changes!

Added some more stuff, and made some minor changes as well.