Captain Al'rahem of Tallarn Click to enlarge

he 3rd Tallarn regiment, or Tallarn Desert Tigers as it is more commonly known, has a long and honoured history. It fought throughout the Macharian conquests alongside the 4th and 5th Tallarn regiments. Subsequently it was all but destroyed fighting for Warmaster Solon during the Macharian Heresy. It earned its nickname on the planet Kallastin where the regiment fought a hard and successful war against mutant Human rebels, receiving a commendation from the Inquisition for its part in the conflict.

Al'rahem was in command of a company of Desert Tigers during the conquests of Macharius. One of the first of the new Human worlds to be uncovered was Thoth, a planet which had developed in total isolation from the Imperium, without the knowledge or guiding influence of the Emperor. The inhabitants had developed many dangerous psychic powers and taken to the unclean worship of the Dark Gods of Chaos. As Thoth was a desert planet not unlike Tallarn, it was natural that the Desert Tigers should be amongst the regiments chosen to take part in the invasion.

During the landings, Al'rahem's landing craft malfunctioned and crash-landed in the deep deserts. Native N'go tribesmen rescued the Guardsmen from certain death in the wilderness. They were curious about all aspects of the Imperium but spoke a strange garbled tongue that the Imperial troops could not understand. A natural linguist, Al'rahem learned their language and much more about the N'go tribes of the deep desert. He learned that the war on Thoth was faring badly for the invaders, and that the ‘Witches' as the tribesmen called the other inhabitants, had called upon the daemonic forces to fight the Imperium. The more Al'rahem talked to the tribesmen the more he learned of their own struggle against the people of Thoth and their evil sorcery.

The war records of the conquests are patchy at best. They tell how the desert raiders of N'go fought a hit-and-run war against the Thoth, appearing suddenly from the deep desert to loot and destroy before returning to their secret bases. At their head was Imperial Guard Captain Al'rahem, and his remaining band of Desert Tigers. After the war was finally won, Al'rahem returned to his regiment. His fame had spread far and wide throughout the army as had the stories of the heroic N'go tribes. After the armies passed on the Inquisition declared the world ‘Amundi Heretica', that is to say a world whose people were genetically contaminated. The N'go were evacuated along with genetic samples of most of the plants and animals whilst the world was cleansed with viral bombs. Later, the desert tribes were returned after swearing oaths of loyalty to the Emperor, and to this day Thoth is ruled by the Lords Al'rahem, descendants of the Imperial Guard captain who led the tribes to victory all those years ago.

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