Across the war-torn worlds of the Age of Darkness, massive armies battle amongst ruined cities. Nowhere is the cost of war more evident than areas where entire blocks have been bombarded, or suffered the tread of mighty Titans.
Even in the Age of Darkness, the monumental architecture of the fledgling Imperium tends towards impressive edifices, a combination of baroque and gothic elements mixed with militaristic structures designed to stand in even the harshest environments.
The Thunderhawk Gunship fulfils a number of roles within the Legiones Astartes, but primarily acts as a drop ship, soaring through both atmosphere and void space to deliver its deadly cargo of Space Marines. It is also a formidable weapons platform in its own right, however, equipped to scour landing zones and engage enemy aircraft
Namarti Reavers provide the archers and scouts for the Idoneth Deepkin phalanxes.
The Solar Auxilia are the elite corps of the Imperial Army, recruited from all across the galaxy. The soldiers of the Solar Auxilia are equipped with the weapons and gear to persecute war in some of the harshest environments imaginable. Though outmatched individually by the mighty Space Marines, these troops are far greater in number and prepared to throw down their lives for the cause – whether sworn to the Golden Throne of Terra, or the ambition of the Imperium's rebellious Warmaster.
It is the Tidecasters who conjure the phantasmal sea that allows aelf and aquatic beast to move and breathe as if they were in their own natural environment.
The Baneblade is a super-heavy tank outfitted with a bewildering array of weapons, even for a vehicle of its prodigious size. Each Baneblade serves as a mobile bastion, as well as a symbol of pride to those who march alongside it. The Baneblade hull also serves as the basis for a number of more specialised variants employed by the Solar Auxilia – including the Hellhammer, which exchanges the standard Baneblade battlecannon with a Hellhammer cannon that sacrifices range for increased destructive capabilities.
Idolised echoes of a bygone era, the Eidolons of Mathlann are summoned to life in times of dire need. These are no divine avatars, however, but collective manifestations of the ancestral souls of the Idoneth Deepkin, spirits of vengeance wrapped in the image of a lost aelven god.
The Rhino is the most widely used armoured personnel carrier in the Imperium. Based upon ancient STC technology, the fundamental design is robust, reliable, and easy to maintain, with an adaptive power plant that can run off a wide variety of fuels. Within the Space Marine Legions, the Deimos pattern was the most widespread, serving as the basic armoured transport available to the Legiones Astartes and the foundation on which a number of other war machines were based.
Shrugging off enemy missiles, the Akhelian Leviadon plunges into the fray. Scythed fins dismember foes while the beast’s powerful jaws clamp down with enough force to crush tempered steel.
The Legiones Astartes employ their superhuman infantry to deadly effect. Clad in durable power-armour, armed with explosive boltguns and an array of heavier weapons, these Legionaries flow through debris-choked cities like water, bringing firepower to bear from unexpected quarters and charging in to strike where the enemy is most vulnerable. With the Legions split between the Loyalist Primarchs and the Warmaster's Traitors, the galaxy's most potent fighting forces now display their might against their own brothers for the first time.
No troops exemplify the Idoneth Deepkin way of life more than the Akhelian Guard. Mounted atop Fangmora Eels, they fight in a loose formation ideal for rapid assaults and sudden retreats, typifying the hit-and-run style of war common amongst the aelves of the depths.