Venerable Thax

Venerable Thax is an Iron Hands Dreadnought of Medusa, an interred veteran whose counsel the Clan Council continues to receive. He is one of the entombed, warriors sealed within Dreadnought sarcophagi. The Clan Council nominally regards his counsel as that of a machine rather than a man. The Chapter treats internment as an honour, and Thax represents that honour in its fullest form: the flesh has been accepted as a failed component.

Thax marches with those strike forces that still choose to rouse him. He serves as a repository of campaign history, and younger Iron Fathers quote his campaigns without having witnessed them. The Chapter’s generations differ in outlook: the generation of Gdolkin seeks Cadia, whereas Thax’s generation looks to the next target, named in terms of torque and range.

The Iron Hands hold that a sarcophagus is not a tomb while the guns it carries can still elevate. On Medusa, this principle constitutes the whole of the Chapter’s theology of internment, and it defines Thax’s standing as a continuing combatant and adviser.