# Szarekh, the last Silent King



## Serpion5 (Mar 19, 2010)

I refuse to believe I'm the only one who wants to know more about this guy. For those of you who don't know, he's basically the supreme ruler of all necrons, or at least he was during the prime of their empire up until the moment of their sleep. 

The gist of the story is that it was Szarekh, the reigning king of the necrontyr at the time, made the pact with the c'tan to turn the necrontyr into the necrons. It was only after this that he realized the cost, despite the physical superiority they now enjoyed, many paid a high toll on their ability to think, and the cold unfeeling metal of their new forms dulled their emotions. They had essentially lost their souls, and the guilt of this decision weighed entirely on Szarekh's shoulders. 

Nonetheless, he was the envoy between the c'tan and the necrons and all necrons were ultimately slaved to command protocols that he alone held control over. No necron, from the lowliest warrior to the highest nemesor, could act beyond his will. When the War in Heaven was won, the Old Ones destroyed and the c'tan revelling in their victory, Szarekh chose to exact retribution for his own folly. He did this by leading the necrons in an all out revolt, turning the devastating power of the necrons' unparalleled science and weaponry against their former masters. Trillions of necrons were permanently lost in the process, but in the end the necrons won, shattering the c'tan into shards of their former being and imprisoning each within tesseract labyrinths. 

Knowing that the necrons could not survive in their diminished state against the vengeful eldar, Szarekh ordered that the kingdoms would sleep for sixty million years, enough time he reasoned for the eldar to live out their prime and die, as all flesh must. As part of his final command, Szarekh permanently severed the command protocols that had held the necron empire together meaning that upon their awakening, each necron who still retained sentience would once more be in control of his own destiny. After this, he left the galaxy in a self imposed exile as penance for what he had forced his people to endure. 

When next we hear of him, he has returned to the galaxy, having witnessed the encroaching Hive Fleets of the tyranids and acts now with the sole purpose of uniting the old dynasties in order to defeat them. 


Here's where my questions start. 

A self imposed exile that conveniently lasted approximately sixty million years... Pretty much at exactly the time the Silent King returned, the tyranids had arrived and the necrons were well beginning to wake. To me this seems too odd to be a co-incidence. Does anyone have any theories for this? 

Presumably he is some manner of necron lord, but the lack of description seems ambiguous to an irritating degree. As far as I know, the only non necron individual to have possibly seen him is Dante of the Blood Angels. Yet even that encounter is not well described, and we don't know if he is a typical necron lord who went blow to blow with Dante or whether the two even met at all prior to the tyranid arrival and following defeat. Could he be some elaborate super necron with a grandiose form befitting an alien emperor, or is he more likely to be much the same as his royal kin but for the difference in authority? What do you think? 

Finally, the setup of Szarekh relative to the necrons and c'tan seems like a teaser for something bigger to come. What role do you suppose he might play in the hypothetical ending to 40k?


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## Khorne's Fist (Jul 18, 2008)

The tyranids are no threat to the Necrons, so maybe he found a way to get the nids to clean up the galaxy for the reawakening of the Necrons. I'm not so sure he'd get his panties in a bunch about trying to kill them off. He'd be aware that they would eventually move on after scouring the galaxy, unless he has some over arching selfless reason, like trying to defend the other races. Which I doubt.



Serpion5 said:


> Finally, the setup of Szarekh relative to the necrons and c'tan seems like a teaser for something bigger to come. What role do you suppose he might play in the hypothetical ending to 40k?


In the past we've seen the 40k universe divided in to the forces of order and disorder, with each faction rallying under their own leader, like Abbadon, Ghazkull, Eldrad, etc. Maybe he would be the figurehead for the Necrons. The question is, are the Necrons on the side of order or disorder come the apocalypse?


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## Serpion5 (Mar 19, 2010)

Khorne's Fist said:


> The tyranids are no threat to the Necrons, so maybe he found a way to get the nids to clean up the galaxy for the reawakening of the Necrons. I'm not so sure he'd get his panties in a bunch about trying to kill them off. He'd be aware that they would eventually move on after scouring the galaxy, unless he has some over arching selfless reason, like trying to defend the other races. Which I doubt.


From the necron codex, page 24: 



> The Silent King enters the bounds of the galaxy once more. Having encountered the tyranids in the intergalactic void, he recognizes the threat they pose to the necrons' apotheosis - if the tyranids devour all life in the galaxy, the necrons will never find living bodies to house their consciousnesses. Thus does the Silent King break his self imposed exile with the goal of marshalling his people against this new threat.


Szarekh's goal is not the extinction of all life. He seeks a way to undo the curse his people suffer as necrons, a way to return them to living beings once more. For this he needs a suitable mortal race to act as vessels for their vastly superior intellects. Not all necrons share this goal but many still do, perhaps as a result of being under his influence for so long or perhaps genuine desire. Point is, they need living beings for their goal, and thus the galaxy needs to be defended from the tyranids. 



Khorne's Fist said:


> In the past we've seen the 40k universe divided in to the forces of order and disorder, with each faction rallying under their own leader, like Abbadon, Ghazkull, Eldrad, etc. Maybe he would be the figurehead for the Necrons. The question is, are the Necrons on the side of order or disorder come the apocalypse?


To be honest, Disorder doesn't seem to fit the necrons creed. I would likely place them on the side of order, or failing that a neutral faction. I wouldn't mind seeing some rules or even a model for this character though, even if he did end up being a Lord of War choice.


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## Khorne's Fist (Jul 18, 2008)

Serpion5 said:


> Szarekh's goal is not the extinction of all life. He seeks a way to undo the curse his people suffer as necrons, a way to return them to living beings once more. For this he needs a suitable mortal race to act as vessels for their vastly superior intellects. Not all necrons share this goal but many still do, perhaps as a result of being under his influence for so long or perhaps genuine desire. Point is, they need living beings for their goal, and thus the galaxy needs to be defended from the tyranids.


Forgot about that bit. I only read the codex once. 



Serpion5 said:


> To be honest, Disorder doesn't seem to fit the necrons creed. I would likely place them on the side of order, or failing that a neutral faction.


I can see some sort of alliance forming to kill off the tyranids once and for all. At the very end, Farsight, *insert primarch here*, Szarekh and Yriel are standing over the body of the last Nid, when Szarekh turns and zaps the lot of them with a body snatcher gun. And so begins the next apocalypse.


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## Beaviz81 (Feb 24, 2012)

I'm in with KF there. The Necrons are almost as fractured now as the IOM. I mean good luck getting e.g. Trazyn (my favorite Cron) into following orders well. I mean for all of the named Cron-chars you have basically the same wording about they waking up and finding the worlds in disarray. They might eventually unite, though I really doubt so (what fun would that be united Necrons?).

As for Nids and Crons coming on the same time, well it was cosmic fate from were I'm standing.

As for the alliance-thingy KF mentioned, it would happen if Matt Ward is allowed to write any more stories about 40k.


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## Khorne's Fist (Jul 18, 2008)

Beaviz81 said:


> As for the alliance-thingy KF mentioned, it would happen if Matt Ward is allowed to write any more stories about 40k.


Thankfully, that will never happen now.


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## ckcrawford (Feb 4, 2009)

I wonder if the Necrons have generally focussed their strength in attack the hive fleets. However, based on their division its hard to tell. BL definitely has a bunch of fluff they can pursue. I see an entire series. 

I see the scenario much like Necrons who are looking towards bigger goals, by defending their galaxy as well as Necrons who take the opportunity to take advantage of situations were the strongest are fighting and they are kind of right behind them ready to destroy them.


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## Serpion5 (Mar 19, 2010)

There are plenty of necron factions with that kind of thinking, but just as many others who'd be ready to stand their ground for the galaxy's survival be it for their own ends or for more noble reasons such as respect. 

All necrons look upon the lesser races with disdain, but even so a worthy warrior race warrants respect, and plenty of necrons are willing to treat them as such even in battle. By the sounds of it, Szarekh is such an individual, so a large scale alliance or at least truce (temporary of course) is not completely out of the question.


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## Over Two Meters Tall! (Nov 1, 2010)

Serpion5 said:


> Knowing that the necrons could not survive in their diminished state against the vengeful eldar, Szarekh ordered that the kingdoms would sleep for sixty million years, enough time he reasoned for the eldar to live out their prime and die, as all flesh must.


The implications here seem to be:

The Eldar were stronger than the Necrons at the end of the War in Heaven
The Eldar didn't shield their creators, the Old Ones, while they were killed off.
Huh? Oh, and the OP asks some pretty good questions, but does anticipate that GW will advance the 40K storyline in relation to the Silent King... or perhaps give enough fluff teasers to let you know where the story will advance, if advance it does.


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## Reaper45 (Jun 21, 2011)

Serpion5 said:


> A self imposed exile that conveniently lasted approximately sixty million years... Pretty much at exactly the time the Silent King returned, the tyranids had arrived and the necrons were well beginning to wake. To me this seems too odd to be a co-incidence. Does anyone have any theories for this?


The crons are probably the most technologically advanced faction in 40K perhaps the galaxy he was in during his exile has hints of the nids.

Assuming we assume that the necrons still have galaxy wide transporters that don't rely on the webway and ships that can travel at the blink of an eye it's not a big stretch.


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## LordNecross (Aug 14, 2014)

Reaper45 said:


> The crons are probably the most technologically advanced faction in 40K perhaps the galaxy he was in during his exile has hints of the nids.
> 
> Assuming we assume that the necrons still have galaxy wide transporters that don't rely on the webway and ships that can travel at the blink of an eye it's not a big stretch.


I wish they did, I feel that has been retconned because Ward is a twat.

In my mind they still do, because it doesn't make sense otherwise. The are masters of time and space, and beyond petty need of the warp.


As for the Silent king I would love to see him have a badass model and unique rules, make him better than even a kitted out overlord.


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## Serpion5 (Mar 19, 2010)

Over Two Meters Tall! said:


> The implications here seem to be:
> 
> The Eldar were stronger than the Necrons at the end of the War in Heaven
> 
> The Eldar didn't shield their creators, the Old Ones, while they were killed off.


We don't really know much about the state of the eldar during this period, other than the fact that this is the time frame in which eldar culture and eldar gods were shaped. Presumably the Old Ones were the focus of the c'tan and necron forces, leaving most of their servant races (such as eldar and orks) off to the wayside. Before the rebellion, perhaps Szarekh simply didn't perceive them to be a threat, and reached his conclusions and decided upon his course afterwards. 

That's just my guess, it could have one down any number of other ways. 



LordNecross said:


> In my mind they still do, because it doesn't make sense otherwise. The are masters of time and space, and beyond petty need of the warp.


I agree, I would like to see this back when they get their new book. Having them exist as a fractured empire was drawback enough to take the necrons off the Tyranid/Chaos level of galactic threat without that ridiculous weakness thrown into the mix. 

It's absurd that a race with the power to overthrow, shatter and enslave their own gods would be reliant on such a fragile and limited means of transport. 



LordNecross said:


> As for the Silent king I would love to see him have a badass model and unique rules, make him better than even a kitted out overlord.


I agree, someone like this deserves a much better statline than the uniform stats almost all other necrons get. I wanna see a necron that can go toe to toe with the best of every faction on the table as well as in the fluff. :biggrin:


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## Reaper45 (Jun 21, 2011)

LordNecross said:


> I wish they did, I feel that has been retconned because Ward is a twat.
> 
> In my mind they still do, because it doesn't make sense otherwise. The are masters of time and space, and beyond petty need of the warp.
> 
> ...


My personal head canon is that Necron teleporters require time to beam forces to a target location without a receiver portal on the other end, furthermore there's no in between for them you're either at one location or the other.

The reason why the webway was such a strategic advantage is that it's basically a tunnel system instead of the this or that for the crons there was a third option.

So when they infiltrated the webway they were able to remove that third option.


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## LordNecross (Aug 14, 2014)

Reaper45 said:


> My personal head canon is that Necron teleporters require time to beam forces to a target location without a receiver portal on the other end, furthermore there's no in between for them you're either at one location or the other.
> 
> The reason why the webway was such a strategic advantage is that it's basically a tunnel system instead of the this or that for the crons there was a third option.
> 
> So when they infiltrated the webway they were able to remove that third option.


I still think its horse shit tbh.

I don't think they need the webway at all, and probably travel just as fast, or faster without it.

I maintain my own canon that they still maintain their original travel ability and only enter the webway to bother the space elves.


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## Serpion5 (Mar 19, 2010)

Reaper45 said:


> My personal head canon is that Necron teleporters require time to beam forces to a target location without a receiver portal on the other end, furthermore there's no in between for them you're either at one location or the other.


Necrons still have teleportation, it just appears to be short ranged now rather than galaxy wide. Their monoliths and night scythes prove that they can build their own teleportation devices but the info on them is woefully lacking. We don't know how far they can draw troops from. 

Ironically Flayed Ones seem able to teleport to blood soaked battlefields at will, something other necrons apparently cannot do. 



Reaper45 said:


> The reason why the webway was such a strategic advantage is that it's basically a tunnel system instead of the this or that for the crons there was a third option.


The history seems to imply that the necrons were forced to use slow burning torch ships and stasis to travel between stars at the speed of light. This accounted for the Old Ones advantage, they were always able to outmaneuver the necrons by use of the webway. The necrons hi-jacking the webway removed this advantage and tipped the scales in the necrons' favour. 

What I don't understand is why they removed the fluff regarding the necrons own ftl from previous editions, and further implied that without the webway they would be forced to rely on the torch ships again. 

Tyranids are able to generate gravity wells around star systems that enable their fleets to approach said systems at much greater velocities than the speed of light. Even this method is something the necrons should easily be able to replicate. Considering that they are apparently masters of time and space.


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## Reaper45 (Jun 21, 2011)

Serpion5 said:


> Necrons still have teleportation, it just appears to be short ranged now rather than galaxy wide. Their monoliths and night scythes prove that they can build their own teleportation devices but the info on them is woefully lacking. We don't know how far they can draw troops from.
> 
> Ironically Flayed Ones seem able to teleport to blood soaked battlefields at will, something other necrons apparently cannot do.
> 
> ...


Maybe he thought it would make the necrons too powerful to teleport anywhere in the blink of an eye, which is what their FTL was.

Since it doesn't make sense I choose to ignore it, otherwise the necrons go from being a dreaded foe that must never awaken to a minor nuisance that is limited.


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## Serpion5 (Mar 19, 2010)

Reaper45 said:


> the necrons go from being a dreaded foe that must never awaken to a minor nuisance that is limited.


Sadly I think this was the overall intent. I guess we have to wait and see what the new book gives us.


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## LordNecross (Aug 14, 2014)

On another note. I see Nids as the only actual threat before the nerfing of the crons.  Sorry Chaos lovers.


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## Reaper45 (Jun 21, 2011)

LordNecross said:


> On another note. I see Nids as the only actual threat before the nerfing of the crons.  Sorry Chaos lovers.


I dunno, if you can cost the nids more bio mass than what they would gain by taking the planet they'll back off. Most factions have weapons capable of doing that very thing.

Waagh ghazkull makes a good case for the orks becoming a dangerous threat.


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## VulkansNodosaurus (Dec 3, 2010)

Actually, the issue of "threats" is at the heart of what I think was the basis of the Necron transformation (and the Dark Eldar updates).

When I started following 40K, there were basically three major threats to the galaxy: Tyranids, Necrons, and Chaos. Opposing them were the Tau, Eldar, and the Imperium as the protagonists. The Orks and Dark Eldar were random factions that didn't really play a role in the overall drama, too weak to be a threat but clearly not protagonists. Moreover, the Tyranids and Necrons looked different, but both were mindless hordes out to kill everything. That's really boring writing for even a single faction, and incredibly lazy as well to reuse for two.

So GW revamped the system. There are still three threats, but now they were supposed to be Tyranids, Orks, and Chaos. The other five factions - Necrons, Dark Eldar, Eldar, Imperium, and Tau - became the protagonists of the setting. Being protagonists, they got more depth than the threats, but naturally their power level was significantly lowered. Of course, this is 40K, so many of the protagonists stayed rather evil and most of them hated each other, but oh well.

The result was three differentiated threats (mindless threat, savage threat, insidious threat) and five morally gray (though of different shades) protagonist groups. The only problem was fandom inertia, but that can be overcome in time with good fluff.

And then they hired Matt Ward to write the codices.

(Disclaimer - I have no idea what's happening with the fluff now; ever since BL ruined itself I've been distracted from the GW world.)


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## LordNecross (Aug 14, 2014)

Reaper45 said:


> I dunno, if you can cost the nids more bio mass than what they would gain by taking the planet they'll back off. Most factions have weapons capable of doing that very thing.
> 
> Waagh ghazkull makes a good case for the orks becoming a dangerous threat.


Orks could woop any factions ass if they actually stopped fighting each other and united. A United Ork force would be more dangerous than any of the other factions combined.

However they are designed in a way that prevents that entirely.


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## Reaper45 (Jun 21, 2011)

LordNecross said:


> Orks could woop any factions ass if they actually stopped fighting each other and united. A United Ork force would be more dangerous than any of the other factions combined.
> 
> However they are designed in a way that prevents that entirely.


Waaagh ghazkull supplement disagrees.


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