The Machine Dominions

"Tubalcain, an instructor of every artificer in brass iron."
-Genesis 4:22

“Of him all evil broods were born, ogres and goblins and haunting shapes of hell, and the giants too, that long time warred with God – for that he gave them their reward.”

-Beowulf 89-92

The Machine God

Borne away in safety from The Deluge by Princes of the Middle Air to the iron world he would name Cain Prime, Tubalcain, known to many only as the Machine God, is chief among the Enemies Without. Across the millennia he has built his strength in secret to encompass his one aim: the return to his birthworld and the conquest of his birthright, Eden. As his natural form withered with time, he enthroned himself within the Iron Sepulchre above the vast Charnel Gate of the Tower of Silence. Here his hate-gnawed mind looks forth upon the galaxy, returning its malignant gaze always to the shining jewel of Earth. Through the Tower's maw passes the endless parade of the Flesh Tithe, a macabre procession of victims from across the stars fed to the tower to sustain the Machine God's 

life.

The Iron Sepulchre

The Flesh Tithe enters the Tower of Silence

Father of forgers, Tubalcain exerts his will upon the galaxy through his vast armies of cunningly wrought machines.

Zeroes

Praetor: Barzelcain/Eisenkaiser

Homeworld: Grendel

The firstborn of Tubalcain, created for companionship and labor on Cain Prime. Named Zeroes by the Dogs as they were the first type of Machine encountered by them. The earliest of Tubalcain's work, they possess rudimentary personalities varying from the savage and servile yet gregarious footsoldiers and laborers to the barbaric yet noble knights and warchiefs that command them. Built on a modular pattern, Zeroes are endlessly customizable, making them excellent forces for garrisoning the ever shifting edge of the empire. They favor cheap but effective weapons such as chainglaives and hardlight technologies such as prismatic lances. Higher echelon units have been known to tinker with more experimental wargear, such as the dreaded Hundschrecken or mysterious Gestaltlance. Their Praetor, Barzelcain, dubbed by the dogs 00 and Eisenkaiser, was Tubalcain's first son of iron, and regular tinkering by his creator has given him personality, cunning, and abilities far in excess of his younger brothers. He rules over the planet Grendel, where his foundry fortress delves deep into and soars above the sole landmass of the planet, a lone iron island on a writhing sea of titanic leviathans and behemoths, the monstrous get of Cain.

Hunters

Praetor: Huntmaster

Homeworld: Nimrod

Forged by the Machine God to hunt down his hardiest enemies, from uncooperative vassal governors to wild monsters run amok, Hunters are the most varied of Tubalcain's sons. Possessing distinct personalities and minds, Hunter cores inhabit purpose built bodies, bristling with exotic weapons and variegated means of locomotion. Though designated using the arcane yet standardized serialization system of the Machine Dominions, after a successful, or at least survivable first hunt, new Hunters are christened with a callsign by their peers upon their return to the Giantkiller's Lodge. Part workshop, part museum of galactic natural history, and stomping ground of Hunters between assignments, the Giantkiller's Lodge is the only blot of Machine Civilization on the pristine paradise world of Nimrod. Here Huntmaster holds court. Left to his own devices when not on assignment, he oversees the Corps of Hunters and manages the ecosystem of Nimrod's gargantuan flora and fauna, at the pointy end whenever he can. Caring little of conquest and war, Huntmaster would have broken ties with his father eons ago, were he not enticed by the opportunities presented by a lodging on Earth: a chance to hunt the Leviathan and the Behemoth, not the echoes and shadows ruled by his master.

Reapers

Praetor: Lord Carnifex, the Fleshthresher

Homeworld: Cain Prime

Soulless, ruthless, merciless, feared even by their fellow Machines are the Reapers of Cain Prime. Directed by their Lord Carnifex from the Tower of Silence itself, they have but one purpose: Flesh for the Flesh Tithe. Let the Zeroes fight and conquer on the battlefield, the Hunters slay their mark, Reapers live only to feed their dark god. Though oft employed as terror troops due to their dread presence, they might just as easily be seen raiding a tight-pursed vassal world. Wherever you see them, they will not rest until every last penny is paid.

Witches

Praetor: The Weird Engine (Hecate, Medea, Circe)

Homeworld: Endor

After conquering Endor, Planet of the Witches, the Machine God learned of the sorcerers' Devil Engine technology, and promptly exploited it for his own armies. Driven not by a mind of cogs and heart of sparks, but a trapped spirit, Devil Engines are cunning and resourceful in ways matched only by Praetors, Hunters, and high ranking Zeroes, all of whom share an existential dread of the cursed devices. The more powerful spirits can even work spells, enchantments, and sorceries with their steel bodies. The spirits of sacrificed familiars, minor devils, and damned souls drive the bulk of the Deviltry, but the background static of Machine communications whispers of Hell Engines, driven by Princes of the Middle Air themselves. Furthermore, even the meanest ghost confers strange regenerative powers on its engine, making them impossible to kill unless one can destroy the core tying the spirit to the machine, or exorcise the pilot spirit.

Orbiting Endor is the moon of Nimue, her surface a blasted wasteland, doubtless the consequence of some occult holocaust. Her core, however, is a worm-eaten maze of tunnels between great chambers where the witches keep their supply sacrificial victims imprisoned. Patrolling the tunnels are the witchworms, great serpentine devil engines, whose single glowing eye is a ruby encasing the corpse of the familiar powering it.

This hellish system is ruled over from Cruach Keep, wherein dwells the Weird Engine. Thrice possessed by the Weird Sisters: Hecate, Medea, and Circe, it is the most powerful Devil Engine on the planet. Nothing is known of its shape or size, few have ever glimpsed it, yet the cryptic and profane utterances that steal from the keep are interpreted by the many high-ranking astrologers, magi, alchemists, and sorcerers in various and contradictory ways, resulting in a steady state of bureaucratic anarchy that mockingly resembles a government.

Flesh Apostates

Praetor: The Flensed Exarch

Homeworld: Eridani

Once fanatical Zeroes and Hunters, the Flesh Apostates are now a canker on the Machine Dominions. Not actively disloyal to the Machine God, and eager to conquer new worlds, the Flesh Apostates draw their name from their refusal to pay the Flesh Tithe to Cain Prime. If flesh strengthens the Machine God, greatest of all Machines, why should it not strengthen his servants as well? Devoted to improvement and self-perfection, the Flesh Apostates continuously incorporate the organic matter of conquered worlds into their bodies, melding flesh and steel into blasphemous mannikins. Better to be taken by Reapers, some worlds say. Hailing from Eridani, they control a handful of planets from which they harvest and experiment. Ruling from the Cathedral of Chimera on Eridani, the Flesh Apostate's agendas and experiments are directed by the Flensed Exarch, a charismatic yet nightmarish figure of metal and bare sinew. Once clad in radiant skin of living metal, the Exarch's hide now girds the loins of Lord Carnifex, who made an example of the Exarch for his treachery, yet was driven off by a great mob before he could deal the executioner's blow. He has ordered that no Hunter may claim the head of the Exarch, he alone will wait until the time is right to strike, in what is perhaps the only time a Reaper has shown a glimpse of steely humanity.