History Literature / GreyKnights

* DiscOneFinalBoss: [[spoiler:Angron]] is this for the first half of the plot as it details the Grey Knights' involvement in the First War for Armageddon. Once he's defeated, the second half of the plot moves on to the War's aftermath, the Months of Shame involving the cold war between the Space Wolves and [[spoiler:the Inquisition]].

* HeroicRROD: Hyperion nearly dies from overexertion as a result of careless use of his psyker powers after the battle of Armageddon. The ''Karabela'' crew have to lock him in stasis just to save his life, putting him out of commission for more than four months.

** The Cruor Praetoria, comprised of twelve Bloodthirsters favored by Khorne, accompany [[spoiler:Angron]] to Armageddon.

* BigRedDevil: The great threat that the Chaos Gods have been hiding on Armageddon: [[spoiler:Angron and his twelve Bloodthirster bodyguards]].

** Squad Castian have a moment of this themselves while psychically probing for information about what is happening on Armageddon when [[spoiler: Angron senses their presence and psychically tries to kill them]].

* ZeroPercentApprovalRating: Lord Inquisitor Kysnaros is liked by nobody. It's implied that Joros helps him to gain political clout and the rest of the Inquisition support him as an excuse to act upon their long-standing feud with the Space Wolves. Other Grey Knights openly disapprove of Kysnaros' orders, [[spoiler:to the point that some Grey Knights and Inquisitors conspire to assassinate him before the conflict with the Space Wolves worsens.]]

* BigRedDevil: The great threat that the Chaos Gods have been hiding on Armageddon: [[spoiler:Angron and his fourteen Bloodthirster bodyguards]].

* AllForNothing: [[spoiler: Hyperion invokes this as one reason why the Space Wolves are outraged the Inquisition intends to purge Armageddon's population, since it renders the sacrifices of all the Wolves who died fighting Angron's army to ensure the people would be spared worthless]].
-->'''Hyperion''': [[spoiler: When seen in such a light, the Wolves' actions- already noble enough- takes on another layer of righteousness. They've lost warriors, too. How many of them died in glory, only to learn now it had all been in vain defending a doomed population?]]

* BattleInterruptingShout: [[spoiler: Bjorn delivers one to the Space Wolves and Grey Knights fighting it out aboard the ''Corel's Hope'', causing all present to fall to their knees before him]].

* DidntThinkThisThrough: Inquisitor Kysnaros believes the best way to finally force a capitulation from the Space Wolves [[spoiler: was to blockade Fenris with an Inquisitorial armada and threaten to perform Exterminatus on the planet if they didn't stand down. The plan doesn't work, and when Logan Grimnar and the entire Space Wolves fleet, having learned what is happening, emerge from the Warp ready for battle and howling for blood, Hyperion actually asks Kysnaros if he thought the Space Wolves would react any other way to such an action other than with extreme violence]].[[labelnote:Spoilery explanation]]In Kysnaro's defence, he admits to having never dealt with the Adeptus Astartes before and the few on his staff to advise him that have weren't dealing with a Chapter as independent as the Space Wolves.[[/labelnote]]

* GoodIsNotNice: Invoked by Hyperion as he duels Grimnar, telling him that the Imperium of Man isn't a fabled empire of joy where the most moral course of action is the best but a brutal place that is constantly under desperate siege within and without. The Grey Knights, as the Emperor's Gift, know what they have to do is often horrific but the alternatives are worse and they will not stint in their duty.
* HeroKiller: Angron, who along with his daemonic honour guard slaughters his way through over a hundred Grey Knight Terminators like it was nothing, [[spoiler:including several of the main characters.]]

** The Inquisition’s, and also Hyperion’s, excuse for slaughtering the civilians and guardsmen who took part in the campaign to retake Armageddon. They argue it's better for a few thousand potentially corrupt souls to die than risk having to potentially slaughter millions of innocents in the future because they let the thousands live.

** Inquisitor Kysnaros' view of why he is prolonging the conflict with the Space Wolves: in his view, not bringing them to heel [[spoiler: runs the risk of the Imperium sinking into a civil war on a par with the Horus Heresy]].
** Grand Master Joros advises Kysnaros to [[spoiler: open fire on Logan Grimnir's fleet, in the hopes of either forcing Grimnar to captiulate or taking him as a hostage to force the Space Wolves into compliance. He even admits this when Grimnar confronts the Inquisition forces, stating his actions were for the greater good. It results in Grimnar burying a power axe in Joro's chest and the Space Wolves [[TheGlovesComeOff effectively declaring war on the Inquisition]].]]

* TheMagnificent: Hyperion is given the epithet ‘Bladebreaker’ by the Space Wolves [[spoiler:after he psychically shatters Angron’s [[{{BFS}} Black Blade]]]].

* OldShame: InUniverse: The Grey Knights refer to the months spent hunting down and slaughtering the fleeing guardsmen (and the billions of innocent people who came into contact with them) the Months of Shame. In fact, it's not just the Grey Knights calling it this. That's the ''OFFICIAL'' GW name for that event.

* PreMortemOneLiner: "In the name of the Emperor of Mankind, we do judge thee ''diabolus traitoris''. The sentence is death".
* PureIsNotGood: The Grey Knights fight against Chaos and are incorruptible, but they also actively take part in the subsequent purge of Armageddon and the system-wide Exterminatus operations in pursuit of the Space Wolf-aided guardsmen.
* {{Protectorate}}: One of the first things Logan Grimnar does when he meets the Grey Knights and Inquisitors sent to Armageddon is make it explicitly clear that the guardsmen and civilians there are under his protection, and that he will brook no purges of them after the battle is over. When the Inquisition initiates a purge anyway, it sets the stage for the war between the Space Wolves and the Adeptus Terra.
* ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight: Logan Grimnar and, to a lesser extent, Inquisitor Jarlsdottyr. Hyperion reasons that the Space Marines, bred to be warriors first and foremost, would see it as a smear on their honour if they prevented a greater evil by allowing a lesser one to occur. The Space Wolves themselves outright state this is their reason for fighting the Inquisition, arguing that the men and women who fought so valiantly to defend Armageddon from [[spoiler: Angron's daemonic horde]] deserve better than to be quietly eliminated so the Inquisition can more easily sweep the truth of what happened under the carpet.

-->'''Bran Rawthroat''': We're ''not'' "making a point", Bladebreaker. We're doing what is right.

* SpaceColdWar: Between the Inquisition and the Space Wolves after Armageddon. It turns hot after the Inquisition fires on the Space Wolf flagship under the guise of a truce.

* ThisIsUnforgivable: Logan Grimnar ordered his forces to never return fire during the campaign to shield the loyal guardsmen from the Inquisition and the Grey Knights, and was even willing to attend an armistice to discuss terms of de-escalating the conflict. All of this goes out of the window when the Inquisition fires on his flagship during said armistice, after which Grimnar vows to fight to the death.

* TranquilFury: Grimnar makes it clear during his meeting with Kysnaros that he's pissed that the Inquisition opened fire on his flagship in spite of their armistice. [[spoiler: When Kysnaros demands that he surrender, Grimnar and his retinue proceed to swiftly kill the Grey Knights Grand Master who allegedly ordered the attack on his ship and then several Justicars.]]
* UnskilledButStrong: Hyperion. He only recently became a Grey Knight but his potential as a psyker is immense. [[spoiler:He shatters Angron's demonic blade with a desperate psychic attack at Armageddon, and then becomes a Prognosticar by the book's DistantFinale.]]
* WeWillMeetAgain: Though the conflict between both sides ends in a (albeit grudging) peace deal, both the Space Wolves and the Inquisition know they will likely end up fighting each other again sooner or later.

-->[[spoiler:'''Prognosticar Torcrith:''' Ready yourselves to shed a primarch's blood. The Lord of the Twelfth Legion awaits you on Armageddon.]]
* YouAreInCommandNow: Following [[spoiler:Galeo's death and Enceladus' coma,]] command of the ''Karabela'' falls to Hyperion.

* PeaceConference: [[spoiler: Bjorn is able to negotiate a peace deal between the Inquisition and the Space Wolves, allowing both sides to save face. The terms of the deal are: in exchange for the Space Wolves standing down, no Inquisition ship will ''ever'' appear in the skies of Fenris again, on penalty of immediate destruction, and the Space Wolves who had learned of the Grey Knights should not be mind-wiped as was normal in such cases, but instead Hyperion should personally explain the Grey Knights' mission and its importance to all of the Astartes within The Fang, so that such a conflict should never again occur due to misunderstanding and ignorance of the Inquisition's mission]].

* OldShame: InUniverse: The Grey Knights refer to the months spent hunting down and slaughtering the fleeing guardsmen (and the billions of innocent people who came into contact with them) the Months of Shame.
** In fact, it's not just the Grey Knights calling it this. That's the ''OFFICIAL'' GW name for that event.

* IDidWhatIHadToDo: The Inquisition’s, and also Hyperion’s, excuse for slaughtering the civilians and guardsmen who took part in the campaign to retake Armageddon. They argue it's better for a few thousand potentially corrupt souls to die than risk having to potentially slaughter millions of innocents in the future because they let the thousands live.

* OffWithHisHead: [[spoiler:Lord Inquisitor Kysnaros]] at the hands of [[spoiler:Logan Grimnar]].
* OhCrap

** The Grey Knights have a moment of this themselves while psychically probing for information about what is happening on Armageddon when [[spoiler: Angron senses their presence and psychically tries to kill them]].

* TheMagnificent: Hyperion is given the epithet ‘Bladebreaker’ by the Space Wolves [[spoiler:after he psychically shatters Angron’s [[{{BFS}} Black Blade]]]].

* UnskilledButStrong: Hyperion only recently became a Grey Knight but he has immense psyker potential. [[spoiler:He shatters Angron's demonic blade with a desperate psychic attack at Armageddon, and then becomes a Prognosticar by the book's DistantFinale.]]

* WhamLine: "[[spoiler: Ready yourselves to shed a primarch's blood. The Lord of the Twelfth Legion awaits you on Armageddon]].

* ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks: At Armageddon, Enceladus and Galeo throw their sword at a daemon's wrist in an attempt to help Hyperion. [[spoiler: Unfortunately, said daemon was Angron so it didn't work, and [[{{RealityEnsues}} since Galeo no longer had a sword to defend himself with, he's subsequently hacked to pieces by daemons.]]]]

* BodySurf: Hyperion and Malchaldiel do this on a serf on Terra to ring the Bell of Lost Souls for [[spoiler:Sothis]].

* CurbStompCushion: Both Hyperion and Malchaldiel are thrashed in seconds by [[spoiler:Grimnar]], showing the difference in abilities between two young Grey Knights and a very old and experienced [[spoiler:Space Wolves Chapter Master]]. Hyperion, however, is able to stop him from killing Malchaldiel and even nearly destroys his axe before the fight is interrupted.

* HeroicRROD: Hyperion nearly dies from overexertion as a result of careless use of his psyker powers after the battle of Armageddon. The ''Karabela'' crew have to lock him in stasis just to save his life, putting him out of comission for more than four months.

* IdenticalTwins: Sothis and Malchaldiel. The two are distinguishable thanks to Sothis's many scars and bionic augmentations, [[spoiler:though the many wounds Malchaldiel sustains over the course of the book start to make him resemble Sothis more by the end.]]

** The daemon-possessed Imperial governer of the planet Cheth and his Chaos-corrupted court's reaction when an entire squad of Grey Knights teleport into the room and Inquisitor Jarlsdottyr orders them to kill everyone in the room.

* ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks: At Armageddon, Galeo throws his sword at a daemon's wrist in an attempt to help Hyperion. [[spoiler: Unfortunately, said daemon was Angron so it didn't work, and [[{{RealityEnsues}} since Galeo no longer had a sword to defend himself with, he's subsequently hacked to pieces by daemons.]]]]
* TranquilFury: Grimnar makes it clear during his meeting with Kysnaros that he's pissed that the Inquisition opened fire on his flagship in spite of their armistice. [[spoiler: When Kysnaros demands that he surrender, Grimnar and his retinue proceed to swiftly kill the Grey Knights Grand Master who allegedly ordered the attack on his ship and several Justicars.]]
* UnskilledButStrong: Hyperion only recently became a Grey Knight but he has immense psyker potential. [[spoiler:He telepathically shatters Angron's demonic blade at Armageddon, and then becomes a Prognosticar by the book's DistantFinale.]]

* BigRedDevil: Angron and his fourteen Bloodthirster bodyguards.
* BodySurf: Hyperion and Malchaldiel do this on a serf to ring the Bell of Lost Souls on Terra for [[spoiler:Sothis]].

* HeroicRROD: Hyperion nearly dies from overexertion as a result of careless use of his psyker powers after the battle of Armageddon. It sends him into a coma that lasting two months.

* SecretTestOfCharacter: Brand Rawthroat accompanies the ''Carabela'' to escort a ship containing survivors of Armageddon. [[spoiler: When Hyperion follows Joros' orders to destroy the ship, the Space Wolves take it as a sign that they can no longer entrust any of the refugees to the Inquisition.]]

* WhamLine: "[[spoiler: Ready yourselves to shed a primarch's blood. The Lord of the Twelfth Legion awaits you on Armageddon]].

* HeroicRROD: Hyperion nearly dies from overexertion as a result of careless use of his psyker powers after the battle of Armageddon. He falls into a coma for the next two months.

* DistantFinale: The ending takes place decades after the Months of Shame, [[with Hyperion now a Prognosticar and Malchadiel returning from Mars so they can finally ring the Bell of Lost Souls for Sothis.]]

* LackOfEmpathy: Hyperion repeatedly mentions that he finds reading normal people’s expressions and understanding their motivations extremely hard.

* CurbStompBattle: [[spoiler:Angron]] slaughters his way through scores of Grey Knight veterans in Terminator armor as he [[NoSell laughs at their attacks]]. It's only when Hyperion shatters his sword that the Grey Knights finally turn the tide.

* HeroKiller: Angron, who along with his daemonic honour guard slaughters his way through over a hundred Grey Knight Terminators like it was nothing, including several of the main characters.

* LightningBruiser: Tactical Dreadnought armour looks as though it should be heavy, lumbering and very restrictive, however most of the characters who wear it are still able to act and fight faster and more effectively than those in 'normal' Power Armour. Most notably Logan Grimnir, who can move so fast in his suit that he was able to draw his axe, swing it and kill another Terminator-clad character before anyone else in the room could even react.

* TheProtectorate: One of the first things Logan Grimnar does when he meets the Grey Knights and Inquisitors sent to Armageddon is make it explicitly clear that the guardsmen and civilians there are under his protection, and that he will brook no purges of them after the battle is over. When the Inquisition initiates a purge anyway, it sets the stage for the war between the Space Wolves and the Adeptus Terra.

* TheMagnificent: Hyperion is given the epithet ‘Bladebreaker’ by the Space Wolves after he psychically shatters Angron’s [[BFS Black Blade]].

* StopWorshippingMe: [[Bjorn the Fell-Handed]] constantly tells the Inquisition and Grey Knights to stop kneeling before him.

-->'''Hyperion''': [[spoiler: When such a light, the Wolves' actions- already noble enough- takes on another layer of righteousness. They've lost warriors, too. How many of them died in glory, only to learn now it had all been in vain defending a doomed population?]]

** The demon-possessed Imperial governer of the planet Cheth and his Chaos-corrupted court's reaction when an entire squad of Grey Knights teleport into the room and Inquisitor Jarlsdottyr orders them to kill everyone in the room.
** The Grey Knights have a moment of this themselves while probing for information about what is happening on Armageddon when [[spoiler: Angron senses their presence and psychically tries to kill them]].

* TheMagnificent: Hyperion is given the epithet ‘Bladebreaker’ by the Space Wolves after he psychically shatters Angron’s Black Blade.

Please resist the urge to put examples on this page or link to this page on tropes unless you are citing from 40K '''novels''' in which the Grey Knights feature. Examples which are specific to rulebooks or other in-universe fluff should go on either the [[TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} 40K page]] or in the Space Marines section of the [[Characters/Warhammer40000CurrentImperialFactions Imperial factions page]].

!!Tropes connected with the Grey Knights themselves include:

* BadassCreed - The Canticle of Absolution is pretty long ([[NumberOfTheBeast 666 words]], to be precise), so different parts get quoted throughout the novels.
--> I am the Hammer! I am the Hate! I am the woes of Daemonkind!
** The fandom has produced several approximations, though [[http://fallfromgrace78.wordpress.com/2006/10/14/the-canticle-of-absolution-of-the-grey-knights/ this one]] at least is a few words too short.
* BladeOnAStick: All Grey Knights are armed with Nemesis force weapons that are charged with their [[PsychicPowers psychic energy]]. There are customised Nemeses, but the standard issue one is a force halberd [[strike:with a built-in [[{{BFG}} boltgun]]]] designed to complement the [[{{BFG}} compact stormbolter]] [[ArmCannon worn on the other arm]].
** [[RetCon Older editions had the stormbolter built into the force-halbered itself.]]
* BlingBlingBang: See below. Not only their armor is blingy, but their guns as well.
* BlingOfWar: While Grey Knights don't paint their armor at all, sporting a [[ColorCodedForYourConvenience grey gleam]] of a polished ceramite (a rarity among Space Marines), they more than enough make for it with various purity seals, sacred engravings, votive chains, blessed skull ornaments, ''holy unguents'' and other bling to end as one of the more ''fabulous'' chapters. And the funniest thing here is that it all ''[[ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve works.]]''
* ChurchMilitant: Not exactly church, as they are formally allied with Ordo Malleus of [[StateSec Inquisition]], which is formally a secular organisation, but still the one of the most pious and religion-heavy chapters. In fact, they even view their piety as a weapon.
* ColourCodedForYourConvenience: They are called ''Grey'' Knights for a reason -- it's the color of unpainted ceramite of their armor, which they just polish to a high sheen to show off their [[IncorruptiblePurePureness pureness]]. And to drive the point home they use ''a lot'' of [[BlingOfWar gold trimmings]] and [[TheCape snow-white cloaks]] as accessories.
* DemonicPossession: Averted. No Grey Knight has ''ever'' fallen to [[TheCorruption Chaos]] even though every one of them are psychics [[KryptoniteFactor (and thus especially vulnerable to it)]].
* DemonSlaying: ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin -- it's their job description. They slay various [[EldritchAbomination Daemons of the Warp]] for TheEmperor.
* DepletedPhlebotinumShells: As they are a specialist chapter geared to fighting [[EldritchAbomination Daemons]], their armory fully reflects this and includes all the manners of anti-Daemonic weaponry, including literal Holy Water-charged bolter shells.
* {{Determinator}}: One of the premiere examples in the setting. Only Black Templars, Blood Angels (during the [[UnstoppableRage Black Rage]]) and ''Necrons'' might be consistently in the same league. It's also noted that Inquisitors, while not in the same league, are also much stronger-willed than most folks.
* EliteMooks: You can hardly get more elite than that, after all said.
** When your Primarch is possibly the Emperor himself...
** This is even discussed in the codices and comes into play on the tabletop. It is entirely possible to end up fielding only fifteen models. This will not stop them from carving through several times that number, but if somebody gets lucky with his lasgun it's going to hurt you a lot more than it would with a different army.
* ForeverWar: Uncounted trillions have died since the Emperor ascended to his Golden Throne, but the Imperium has endured for ten thousand years.
* HeKnowsTooMuch: The Grey Knights' existence is kept secret from most of the Imperium, and if they are ever forced to fight alongside other Imperial forces, they erase the evidence either through [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness executions]] or LaserGuidedAmnesia.
** Well minus [[Literature/SpaceWolf Space Wolves]], as censuring the wolves proved to be too costly to pursue.
* HopelessWar: They are 1000 super soldiers versus an infinite number of immortal {{Eldritch Abomination}}s, the most powerful of which are [[PhysicalGod Demi-Gods]] who can shape entire worlds to their will. Add human allies that number in the ''billions'', and you can start to see the problem.
* HumansAreWarriors: Very few beings in the galaxy can go toe to toe with a Grey Knight.
* IncorruptiblePurePureness: Basically their whole schtick. They're so incorruptible that ''not one'' of them ever fell to Chaos. Of course, the ''way'' they achieved such honor was... Well, [[CrapsackWorld it's]] [[TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} 40K]] after all.
* InitiationCeremony: Fairly standard for more pious chapters, but the preparations for it, and especially tests the aspirants get subjected to are such that hardly anything could be compared to it for sheer unpleasantness -- see TheSpartanWay below.
* IronicHell: Supreme Grand Master Kaldor Draigo is trapped in the warp, where he is forced to battle all of the forces of Chaos for eternity. He has performed many deeds there that are clearly impossible, from dueling Greater Daemons and winning to tearing down entire fortresses. No matter what he does or how hard he fights, winning victories beyond even the Primarchs, everything is undone and reset to normal as soon as he moves on. Interpretations are divided between this making him a MarySue of staggering proportions or a sign that the Chaos gods are just screwing with him.
* MagicKnight: They are the only [[SuperSoldier Space Marines]] chapter to consist ''entirely'' of [[PsychicPowers psykers]]. And in 40K that's basically ''bad'', as it makes you much more prone to TheCorruption. However they are so badass, that it doesn't matter much to them, making them even more CursedWithAwesome than any other psyker.
* MercyKill: Their motive for killing civillians in daemon infestations. Given its 40k, their logic isn't that insane.
* MiniMecha: With the coming new army book, I give you [[http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/productDetail.jsp?prodId=prod1160010a the Nemesis Dreadknight]]!
* NoSuchAgency: As of more recent game editions, the Grey Knights are officially an urban legend, with any and all knowledge of them expunged with extreme prejudice; anyone else who fights alongside them are either killed or mind-wiped after the war is over in order to preserve their secrecy. In older published editions (and the novels published during that period), Grey Knights can still be seen working with regular forces of the Imperium, and no mention of them ''purging them to a man'' afterward.
* NumberOfTheBeast: The InitiationCeremony of a new aspirant include 666 Rites of Emperor -- psychic tests explicitly compared to MindRape, that ''most'' testees fail -- either by subjecting to Chaos, or simply going insane.
** The Grey Knights are also Chapter Number 666, of (an estimated) 1,000. Since there were only a few dozen when they were founded, this caused significant confusion and was probably a joke by their founder Malcador.
* ThePaladin
** PragmaticHero: What they really are. They will happily let a dozen worlds burn, just for a chance to take down a major daemon.
* SpaceMarine
* TheSpartanWay: Grey Knights is one of the (if not ''the'') chapter with the strictest selection procedure among the loyalist Marines -- and that's ''before'' any psychic tests begin -- see NumberOfTheBeast entry. And after ''that'' the [[LaserGuidedAmnesia aspirants' memories are flushed]] to ensure that they don't have any attachments [[TheCorruption the Chaos]] could exploit as weak points, which ''also'' leads to a fairly high number of subjects going insane. In short, [[WeHaveReserves the rejection rate]] among the aspirants would make [[MadScientist Fabius Bile]] proud.
* SealedEvilInACan: Castellan Crowe is a walking one. He keeps guard of an InfinityPlusOneSword but never uses its power, instead he just uses it as a normal sword, relying on his skills.
* SuperpoweredMooks: See MagicKnight entry. Psykers are common among Space marines, but no other chapter consists ''solely'' of them.
* SuperSoldier: Rather self-evidently.
* TrainingAccident: Inverted. According to the 7th edition, a daemon tried to sneak onto Titan as a recruit. Another recruit (and a future Knight) defeated him, ''never even realizing it wasn't part of the tests''.
* WhoYouGonnaCall: The first number you should remember when there's a Daemon in your backyard. Not that their arrival [[CrapsackWorld would make things much better]], but at least you would have chance to [[DyingAsYourself Die As Yourself]], instead of a terrible Chaos monstrosity.
** Actually they're the last.
*** Given the Imperium's penchant for covering up their existence either by mind wiping or plain executing those who've encountered the Grey Knights, it's a safe bet that if somebody with the authority to call them in is involved, things have already gone horribly downhill.